


How Far is Too Far?

by ZeroTheOtherworlder



Category: Fate/Grand Order, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: 1 year after Grand Order part 2, Chaldea is a pro hero organization on paper, Gen, Midoriya and Nathan are almost the same kind of cinnamon roll, Mineta doesn't exist, OC Chaldea Master, Time shenanigans so world is restored to pre part 2 status, UA gets an emotional support cryptid, Who knew saving the world gave you so much PTSD, chaldea shenanigans, even in the bad ways, no beta I die as I die
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:35:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 91,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27863165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZeroTheOtherworlder/pseuds/ZeroTheOtherworlder
Summary: A chance meeting brings Midoriya Izuku into contact with a certain boy fresh off of his own perilous journey.  How will fate unfold as a new force enters the world of pro heroes?  The Chaldea Security Organization takes center stage with its Master, Nathan Relnor, as the world of magic slowly bubbles to the surface.  Updates every other Friday
Comments: 33
Kudos: 112





	1. Prologue: The First (Encounter) (Human Interaction)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Near the tail end of his training Midoriya has to run an errand. It doesn't go so well but at least he makes a friend.

**Prologue** : _The First (Encounter) (Human Interaction)_

It was an off day for Midoriya Izuku. He was nearing the final weeks of his training with All Might and the results were obvious for anyone to see.

On this precious day of rest he decided he should head out and stock up on more of that protein powder All Might had had him on, he’d forgotten to get some last week and his stock was running low.

Thus Midoriya Izuku found himself in the middle of an incident.

Well. Maybe not in the middle.

He’d had precious little time to actually indulge in his old habit of watching pro heroes duke it out with villains, so when he saw a panicked crowd coming from the direction he was going he decided to wait it out and see who responded.

This was perhaps a mistake.

He recognized the first responder, pro hero Fourth Kind. He looked to be in casual garb so perhaps he was in the area for the same reason Midoriya was.

He moved to close in before being blown away in a massive blast of green energy.

“It doesn’t matter anymore does it?!”

The villain was screaming so Midoriya could hear him clearly even though he was some distance away.

“I’m already caught so I might as well take out as many of you bastards as I can before I-”

Fourth Kind exploded out of the building he’d been knocked into, closing the gap in an instant and laying a haymaker with his upper right arm.

The villain reeled but retaliated in kind, unleashing an even more terrible blast than before.

Fourth Kind went flying, slamming into another building a few stories above ground floor.

“If this is my last show! I’m going to make it a bang!”

He aimed down the street Midoriya was standing on.

He hadn’t noticed but he had suddenly become the only target in line of sight.

His reflexes failed him, muscles too exhausted from All Might’s workout routine to respond to such a sudden demand of force.

He saw green rushing towards him but his body simply could not respond fast enough.

But, just because Midoriya was the only person the villain had seen did not mean that he was alone.

Someone tackled him from the side, carrying him far enough to just clear the blast.

They came to a rolling stop, Midoriya’s rescuer jumping to his feet before grabbing him by the shoulder and bodily carrying him to a nearby side street.

It had happened so suddenly that Midoriya could barely even process who was saving him.

Another blast rocked the building they’d hidden behind but none of the debris reached them.

A sharp crackling reached Midoriya’s ears as the boy held out his right hand.

Some of the scattered debris formed up in front of them like a shield, protecting them from the rest of the rubble.

Sparks jumped from that strange strange hand.

It was covered in pitch black scales, giving it an odd sheen.

“It’ll be over soon,” The boy said.

It struck Midoriya as oddly comforting. There was a confidence in those words, but more than that there was an overwhelming sense of calm.

This person was utterly unphased by the danger of the situation they were in. He didn’t move any further down the side street, perhaps assuming the villain would simply inflict more collateral damage if he did so.

Or perhaps he knew what was coming next.

He looked up, prompting Midoriya to mimic his action.

“GOLDEN COMET!”

A brilliant streak of light came crashing straight down, slamming into the villain with a catastrophic amount of force.

A cloud of debris rushed towards them but again that boy formed a shield with a simple wave of his arm.

“I’m going to go ahead and set you down ok? It’s over.”

“O-oh. Ok!” He was honestly still reeling from the fact that this had happened at all.

When he looked back at where the villain had been standing he saw a pro hero he didn’t recognize.

He was clad in a black leather outfit with stylish purple sunglasses and slicked back blond hair.

“Whooo! Sorry for the rough landing buddy but you weren’t being terribly GOLDEN now were you!?” The hero picked up the unconscious villain by the back of his neck before tossing him out of the small crater he’d made on impact.

Fourth Kind landed roughly near where the villain was deposited.

“Yo! You’re lookin a little winded! You ok buddy?” The unknown hero asked as he dusted himself off.

“... You’re... Who called you in?”

“We picked up the disturbance and I was in the area! Decided to ride over and check things out. Didn’t even see ya so figured I’d end it quick.”

It was then that the unknown hero turned his attention to the two boys.

“You two ok over there? Looks like you got a little too close for comfort!”

Fourth Kind turned to look as well prompting Midoriya to become somewhat star struck.

“Y-Yes sir! It all happened so fast but- I’m sorry for making you worry!” Midoriya said with a bow.

Technically he hadn’t done anything wrong. It was true that he hadn't run away when he really should have but technically he was injured in a way that prevented him from moving too quickly.

It was only now that Midoriya’s nerves hit him. Strength left his legs as the realization that he’d almost died washed over him. That villain had shot a powerful laser blast straight at him! If that boy hadn't been there he would have been severely injured, or killed! His whole body began trembling uncontrollably as all of the tension started to leave him.

Thankfully his rescuer was there to steady him yet again.

“I’m fine,” The boy said flatly.

It was a story of contrasts. Even now after everything was over that boy held the same smooth calm that he’d carried throughout the fight. The fact that he didn’t seem to be having any kind of reaction was odd to Midoriya but perhaps he was just better at holding his stress in for longer.

A roar of sirens sounded in the distance.

“Mhr. You two. Stay here and get checked out by the paramedics. And you…” Fourth Kind motioned to the other hero who gave a quick thumbs up before approaching.

They spoke just too quietly for Midoriya to really hear them but one word did stick out to him.

Chaldea.

That would certainly explain why Midoriya didn’t recognize him.

The Chaldea Security Organization was something of a pro hero reserve force. They did not actively patrol but they responded almost immediately when called.

Even on the hero forums Midoriya called home there was little information regarding them. This was not helped by the fact that they were a relatively new organization, having seemingly appeared out of nowhere a few months ago.

Their mysterious nature and sudden arrival in the pro hero circuit left many forum members desperately trying to scrounge together all the information they could on them.

Midoriya wanted to talk to that leather clad hero, but he knew he couldn’t interrupt whatever conversation he was having with Fourth Kind.

“Hey. Can you stand on your own?”

That voice snapped him back to reality. Midoriya looked to the boy next to him, nodding vigorously in response.

“Yes! I’m sorry! Thank you so much for jumping in! I- I just couldn’t-”

It was only now that Midoriya registered the boy’s face.

Brown fluffy hair with an odd tuft of curly white at his bangs.

But that’s not what caught his attention.

Black scales covered the boy’s right eye with a scar peeking out from under them.

“It’s alright. Freezing up isn’t an uncommon reaction to danger. I’m just glad I was there to get you out of the way.” He said with a smile.

And what a smile it was.

It was almost alarming but not in a way Midoriya could articulate properly.

It was overflowing with an emotion he couldn’t properly identify.

It was simply too vast to not be alarming, but it was also warm and kind.

Midoriya noticed another scar over the bridge of the boy’s nose as he struggled to process the emotion that smile carried.

“My name’s Nathan Relnor, it’s nice to meet you.”

He extended his left hand. It was covered in a black glove but otherwise it resembled a normal human arm unlike his right.

“Ah! Nice to meet you! My name is Midoriya Izuku!” The handshake was a little on the odd side but he seemed foreign either way. Not that he could tell from his accent.

Their introduction was interrupted when an ambulance worker came to check them out. As they were receiving their examinations that Chaldean hero departed the scene in a streak of golden light.

Midoriya had missed his chance to speak with a genuine Chaldean hero, but he had survived the incident uninjured and without getting yelled at so it wasn’t a total wash.

And.

As Nathan Relnor turned to leave the scene Midoriya called out to him.

“Ah! Um! Hey! I was wondering! Could I get your number! I want to thank you properly for saving me!”

Nathan froze in place for a moment, as if not expecting that kind of reaction.

“Oh. Uh… Sure I guess.” He said after a truly monumental pause. He fumbled around with his pocket before producing an unfamiliar phone model.

“I- I’m training to get into UA so I- I might not respond all the time but I…”

“UA? Oh right. That hero school…”

It was an oddly reserved reaction, almost hesitant.

“I’m thinking of enrolling there too. Or. My guardian is thinking about having me apply. Tell me, is it such a grand place?”

“It’s amazing! All Might the number one pro hero went there! It’s always been my dream to be able to get in but I- Well- It’s…”

Nathan tilted his head to the side as Midoriya tripped over himself.

If Nathan was thinking of applying, Midoriya couldn’t exactly tell him he was quirkless. He would see him after he inherited One for All from All Might.

“It’s been something of an unattainable dream for me…”

“I see.” Nathan paused to collect his thoughts before continuing, “I’m glad you’re chasing it. Even if you thought it was unattainable. Perhaps we’ll meet again in a month or so.”

“Yeah! I’m looking forward to it Nathan-san!”

“Oh. I’m sorry, I messed that up, Relnor is my family name.”

“Ah- I- I- I’m sorry Relnor-san!”

“No worries. That’s one habit I’ve never been able to break in learning Japanese. Anyway, I should get going. May the sun and the stars guide you towards your dreams Midoriya-san.”

With that he gave a small wave and turned to leave.

He was certainly a strange person, but for some reason Midoriya found him very easy to talk to. He gave off a certain air that just made him approachable.

Briefly, Midoriya wondered if he should join him on his trip back to the station.

But then Midoriya remembered he’d come out here for a reason.

And so they went their separate ways.

\---

“Yo Boss!”

Nathan turned to see a familiar leather clad figure pull up next to him on his motorcycle.

“Hey Kintoki. Am I needed back home?”

“Nah, just thought I’d give you a ride. Figured Golden Bear would be faster than any of these trains!”

“Mh… Sure. That sounds good. What did that Hero have to say to you?”

“He was just tryin to figure out who called me but he seemed to buy me just loafin around in the area.”

“That’s good. Thanks for responding to my call so quickly by the way.”

“No worries boss! You know we’ve always got your back Master!”

Nathan gave the Chaldean Hero a smile as he pulled himself up onto the back of the ridiculous motorcycle.

“Let’s go! GOLDEN DRIVE!”

And with that they took off in a brilliant streak of golden light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just mostly wanted to set up Midoriya's first interaction with Nathan and Chaldea's status in the world of MHA. I'll get the first actual chapter out pretty fast. I've already got a bunch of them written out so hopefully I can make this a weekly thing and keep some kind of buffer.
> 
> Let me know what you guys think! I haven't written a fanfic in ages but this year has been so rough I decided to write a super self indulgent one so here we are. 
> 
> UA entrance exams are up next. Hope you enjoy seeing lots of robots explode.


	2. The road paved with (Endless Effort) (the ruins of those who fell short)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midoriya successfully manages to make and keep a friend. But the UA entrance exams still loom large.
> 
> Italicized dialogue is any language being spoken that isn't Japanese

“Hm. Perhaps. There are a lot of applications for that sort of quirk but I worry about his defensive capabilities.

“With a good support team he should be able to overcome that sort of thing!” Midoriya responded happily.

It had been about a week since he had been saved by one Nathan Relnor and in that week Midoriya had discovered many things about him. But the most important thing he’d discovered was that Nathan enjoyed Quirk analysis just as much as he did!

Well, perhaps enjoyed was not the proper word for it.

Nathan proved to be an excellent partner for that kind of discussion but it was difficult to tell from his tone if he actually enjoyed it. His observations were razor sharp and he was able to determine potential shortfalls of quirks almost immediately, but it felt like that ability had come from somewhere other than fascination with quirks.

Usually you focused on your own Quirk if you had one, so that kind of thinking was somewhat uncommon in today’s world.

Since Nathan had a Quirk of his own Midoriya was surprised he’d devoted any time to picking apart other people’s Quirks.

“A good support team would be essential. I wonder if he’s limited to the types of lumber he produces. If he could vary it up or perhaps even petrify parts of himself he’d be able to increase his defensive options by quite a bit simply by varying the density of his extensions.”

They were speaking over the phone while Midoriya poured over some of his homework.

Midoriya sighed. He wished he could just ask pro heroes about their quirks directly. Maybe one day after he got into UA…

“By the way. Your Quirk. I know you said you have some kind of super strength but have you ever taken martial arts classes?”

“Oh. No? I uh… My quirk is a little volatile so I’ve never thought to train it like that-”

“No no no. I mean. Just regular classes without using your quirk. Enough power can overwhelm even skilled fighters but even a hint of skill of your own will give you an edge.”

Midoriya pondered on it. It wasn’t like what Nathan was saying was wrong. Maybe he’d look into joining a dojo after he finished All Might’s workout routine.

“I know a few people who could give you some quick pointers before the entrance exam. I’m pretty sure they’re more than a little bored out of their mind right now,” A soft chuckle sounded from the other end of the phone.

“Do you!? That would be amazing!”

Even if he could only get one or two sessions, having some fundamental building blocks was probably better than just mimicking what he’s seen All Might do on broadcasts.

Seeing and doing were two very different things after all.

“I’ll poke around here a little and get back to you tomorrow. Just let me know when you’re free next.”

“Will do! Oh! Relnor-san!”

“Hm?”

In his excitement Midoriya had almost forgotten to ask his new friend something that had been weighing on his mind.

“Have you thought about it anymore? Applying to UA?”

“Ah. Well. I guess I might. Between you and Sherlock it’s starting to become appealing just to stop hearing about it.”

Midoriya could not control the excited squeal he made. He covered his mouth with both hands and looked at the phone sitting on his desk hoping his stare could erase the last two seconds from existence.

Nathan for his part just laughed.

“If you’re that excited about the idea of me being there then I guess I have to go now.”

If Nathan applied as well then Midoriya would have at least one friend at UA.

Due to Bakugo’s constant bullying Midoriya had spent most of his recent school life as a loner.

Truth be told Nathan was the first real friend he’d made in years.

To have him be a part of his journey to UA was an immeasurable relief for some reason.

“Well- I- You don’t- if you don’t want to-”

“Hahaha! You don’t get to back out after you’ve grabbed victory with both hands. I’m doing this for myself too so don’t get too twisted up about it.”

There was something about the tone with which he spoke that said otherwise but Midoriya decided not to press the issue. Even with that verbal commitment Nathan was probably still not entirely sold on the idea.

Despite acting like a hero when they first met Nathan did not entirely seem interested in pursuing it as a career path. He’d told Midoriya simply that he was just too tired to want to go into heroics.

His stated desire was a little at odds with jumping straight into a villain fight to save someone’s life but Midoriya got the impression that there was some kind of internal conflict going on there.

A loud crash sounded from Nathan’s end of the line.

“HELLO OUR NUMBER ONE RETAINER WE HAVE COME BEARING MORE GIFTS FROM AMAZONESS!”

“WOULD IT KILL YOU TO KNOCK AT LEAST ONCE IN YOUR ETERNAL MOTH LIFE!?”

A series of crashes followed.

Midoriya’s stare bored into his phone in the vain hope that it would allow him to see exactly what was going on over there.

“PLAY PLAY PLAY!”

“WHY DID YOU BRING ALL OF THE KIDS WITH YOU!?”

“THEY INSISTED!”

Nathan screamed as a cacophony of young voices began overtaking him.

A sharp click indicated the end of the call.

“... I wonder how big his family actually is?” Midoriya said to himself quietly. Maybe he’d have to ask Nathan later. For now he needed to finish his homework.

\---

Days later Midoriya stood at the Takoba Municipal Beach Park. He was less than a month away from his deadline and yet he still had so much work to get done.

He couldn’t fail here. He wouldn’t…

“Yo.”

That voice startled him out of his thoughts. Midoriya turned and saw Nathan Relnor standing amid the last large pile of wreckage.

“I guess this is a good way to train your body physically… It’s strength but there’s no direction. No wonder your Quirk is difficult for you to handle.”

It was strange hearing those words flow so casually out of Nathan Relnor. He was such an unassuming presence, but Midoriya knew he spoke from experience.

His body was toned, more so than his own even after being on All Might’s plan for nine months. The loose UA branded t-shirt he wore hid his muscles well, all except for his left arm. As for that left arm… It was covered in scars. Midoriya couldn’t even begin to count them, much less start trying to figure out where they had all come from. 

It was unsettling to say the least.

Midoriya’s eyes traveled down and for the first time he noticed Nathan’s left leg was covered in scales starting just below his knee.

“Wh-When did you get here Relnor-san? I didn’t even hear you!”

“A bit ago, you were off in your own little world so I decided not to bother you for a little bit,” he said before jumping down from the refuse pile to be on the same level as Midoriya. “Managed to talk one of my martial arts instructors into coming with me today. Hope you two get along!”

“O-Oh! Thank you so much!” Midoriya bowed multiple times before starting to look around the area, “um… Relnor-san? Where are they?”

“Right here.”

A fist connected with Midoriya’s sternum sending him stumbling back.

It felt like he’d been slammed by a hurricane force wind but for some reason his body felt no pain.

He looked up to Nathan, stunned by the unprovoked attack.

“Yan Qing.”

Midoriya turned his gaze to his right only to find something that sent him reeling almost as much as that attack had.

Nathan Relnor stood with his arms crossed wearing his usual black collared shirt and long grey pants.

“Sorry sorry!” The UA shirted Nathan said, holding his hands up and backing away, “I couldn’t resist. I jus’ wanted to see what this mysterious friend of yours was like before we got started!”

Midoriya watched in awe as that Nathan’s visage melted away revealing a slightly taller shirtless man with extremely elaborate tattoos covering his torso.

“Let’s try that again shall we? I’m Yan Qing. My Quirk is disguise! I can perfectly mimic someone as long as I’ve got enough information about them. Nice to meet you Midoriya Izuku!”

“N-Nice to meet you as well Yan-san”

“Ehr… Just stick to Yan Qing, it’s easier on both of us kiddo.”

“A-Ah Alright!”

“What do you think?” Nathan asked, approaching the two.

Midoriya’s eyes wandered to the boy’s left arm, just to confirm if Yan Qing’s imitation was accurate. His heart sank when he saw that it was.

What had Nathan been through to give him such terrible scars?

“You register any of that kid?”

“Er- I’m sorry! I-”

“Hahaha! Don’t worry about it. Though, maybe you shouldn’t be so easily distracted in front of an opponent!~” Yan Qing jabbed at him playfully, hitting him square in the bicep.

“Y-Yeah! You’re right! I’m sorry-”

“... Boy you sure do remind me of Mas- Nathan over there,” Yan Qing said with a great chuckle after stumbling over his words somewhat. “Alright. Take a stance. We’re not gonna work you too hard so we don’t mess up your rest day. I’m gonna show you some forms and I want you to start practicing them in place of one of your other physical exercises. It’ll get your body used to moving safely.”

Midoriya nodded vigorously causing Nathan to chuckle as he took a seat on a nearby piece of refuse.

For Yan Qing to compare him to Nathan though… Where had that come from?

He could think of no one he was further from short of All Might.

Regardless, he took up a loose stance, receiving pointers and critiques on it from Yan Qing. The man proceeded to walk Midoriya through a few basic counters and forms to practice.

All and All it took a couple of hours but Midoriya came out of the experience with a great appreciation for his wayward friend and the strange martial artist he brought with him.

Yan Qing had demonstrated the effectiveness of the more advanced forms of what he was teaching Midoriya on Nathan a few times. It usually ended with Nathan face down in the sand seconds after engaging the man.

“Thank you both so much for this,” Midoriya said, wiping sweat from his brow.

“It’s no trouble at all! I’m happy to help out Nathan’s friend! Fufufu… The others will be quite angry that I was the first one that got to meet you!” That second part had been barely above a whisper but Midoriya heard it all the same.

This reminded him of a question he’d wanted to ask Nathan.

“Oh. By the way, how big is your family exactly? There always seems to be something going on in the background of our calls.”

“Mh. I was adopted by an organization actually so I don’t have a traditional family,” Nathan said thoughtfully, “But they more than make up for it. As far as I’m concerned everyone working there is my family.”

That made some kind of sense. Midoriya had heard a few dozen different voices over their calls. It was certainly strange, but nothing about Nathan seemed to be terribly standard.

“Awww that warms my heart to hear you say that Ma- Nathan!”

There it was again. After hearing it a few times Midoriya picked up that Yan Qing only seemed to trip himself up when addressing Nathan directly. There must be some kind of nickname that organization has for him that they habitually call him.

But why were they being so hesitant about it?

Was it that embarrassing?

“Anyway, we should probably get a move on, you need to rest your body if you’re going to get this done before the entrance exams,” Nathan said, surveying the landscape.

“Don’t remind me… But… I’ll get it done. I refuse to fail after having so many people reach out their hands to help me achieve my dreams…”

Nathan fixed a single eyed stare at Midoriya before flashing him that oh so unsettling smile. That smile carried an emotion Midoriya struggled to identify even after having seen it a few times now. It was warm and it made him feel safe, but at the same time it was overwhelming and threatened to suffocate him.

“Good. That’s good. I’ll see you at the exam then I suppose. I might actually start looking forward to this if you’re going to be there.”

“Can’t wait to tell Sherlock he wasted two months trying to get you to commit and that this kid you’ve known for a week and a half was the one that suckered you in.” Yan Qing said with a chuckle.

“Oh shut up you bastard.” Nathan said casually.

“Fahahaha! Alright! See ya around Mido! Keep that practice up! Never know when I’ll show up and give you a pop quiz!”

Midoriya gulped audibly at the thought of Yan Qing impersonating someone close to him in order to catch him off guard again but he knew that even if he failed he was in no danger.

Yan Qing gave off the air of a man who had struggled through a great many terrible things but… While standing at Nathan’s side he looked like a normal older brother.

The two of them departed shortly after that leaving Midoriya to return home on his own.

\---

This was it.

He stood at the entrance to UA’s campus.

He had managed to inherit One for All just in time.

Everything was in place, now all he had to do was put it into practice.

That distant unachievable dream was finally in arms reach.

He of course immediately tripped and had to be saved by another applicant.

He had been knocked so far off balance by the fact that a cute girl had spoken to him that he didn't even introduce himself, or even ask for her name, or say anything really.

But she had spoken to him so it was an undeniable victory on his part.

“Are you ok Midoriya? You’re talking at a million miles an hour.”

That familiar even tone pulled his attention.

Nathan Relnor stood behind him with a bag slung over his left shoulder. He wore the same outfit he always seemed to wear. Was it some kind of uniform? It was a black short sleeve shirt with branding he didn’t recognize with grey pants and black combat boots for some reason.

_“I hope to hear good news when you get back. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need another lift.”_

Midoriya’s focus was pulled behind Nathan, to where a woman with white hair sat in a blindingly red convertible. Pointedly, she was not speaking Japanese.

 _“Of course.”_ Nathan responded casually in the same language she’d used, _“Thanks for the lift Carmilla.”_

_“It’s no trouble. Just pass. It will be good for you I think.”_

Midoriya watched, awestruck as she drove away, leaving with a casual wave.

Before he could properly formulate a response to what he’d just seen Nathan gently elbowed his shoulder.

_“We gonna just stand here or are we going to go pass this exam?”_

“Huh!?” Midoriya let out a confused grunt. Nathan was still speaking in that language he couldn’t even identify so everything he’d just said was incomprehensible to him.

The boy paused somewhat before coughing awkwardly.

“Sorry. I mean. Are we just going to stand here or are we going to go pass this exam?”

“R-Right! Of course! Let’s go!” Midoriya said, resolving himself as he walked slightly ahead of his friend.

They would pass.

They would make it into UA.

Everything was about to change for Midoriya Izuku.

But how many things were going to change for the pensive boy behind him?

They filed into a large auditorium, Nathan sitting to Midoriya’s left. Even being here in this amazing facility Nathan did not seem to be terribly impressed.

Midoriya did his best not to pay too much attention to Bakugo who was sitting to his right. Not that he had to try very hard once the presenter took the stage.

Present Mic himself took to the stage and immediately blew everyone away with his presence.

He explained the details of their practical exam. They would be let loose in a test environment where they would face several different types of robotic opponents. Eliminating them would award points based on the type of robot they destroyed.

Midoriya couldn’t stop himself from muttering about how amazing everything was the whole time, fidgeting in place excitedly.

At least until another hopeful called him out for being distracting.

Holding his hand over his mouth he tried to calm himself down.

“Looks like we’ll probably be split up…” Nathan said absentmindedly.

As President Mic explained the concept of the stage hazard enemy Nathan’s gaze sharpened. Not that Midoriya could actually see it, but he could absolutely feel the shift in Nathan’s mood.

After the presentation was complete they were shuffled towards the testing ground with the other examinees.

“This is where we part ways. I’ll see you over the finish line Midoriya Izuku. May your trials overflow with blessings and curses.”

Nathan patted Midoriya firmly on the back.

“Right! Good luck Relnor-san!”

Surprisingly, despite walking right past them, Bakugo didn’t offer a single comment to the boy encouraging him. Maybe he was too focused on the task at hand to notice anything happening to Midoriya.

Regardless, he gave one final bow to Nathan before they were herded in different directions.

\---

“Robots huh… I wonder how well they’re shielded against electrical attacks,” Nathan muttered to himself absentmindedly. “I can’t imagine they’re too durable. They wouldn’t want to endanger students too much but they still need to be strong enough that taking them out is worth something.”

The concept of the exam itself bothered him. It was a good test of practical skills without too much actual danger, but didn’t this exclude people who’s quirks only worked on humans? Maybe there were other types of exams at other schools, but to think the most prestigious of the bunch excluded a portion of the population like that so easily from the hero course.

“Oh? Do you have an electricity quirk too?” A boy with blonde hair approached him. Apparently he’d been muttering a bit too loudly. Maybe Midoriya was starting to rub off on him.

“In a sense.” Nathan held out his right hand, allowing electricity to dance across his open palm.

“Ah! Nice! Electricity bros! We’ve got this in the bag! I mean it’s robots! Name’s Kaminari Denki by the way!”

“Nathan Relnor,” He said with a smile, “Provided their circuits aren’t properly shielded we shouldn’t have many problems. But. We should probably head in separate directions…”

“Oh right. Yeah. Don’t wanna be competing with interference! Here’s to both of us passing!” He held out his right fist. Nathan returned the gesture with his left. Being left handed was still strange to him even though it had been a few years since he’d been forced to switch hands.

Kaminari gave him a wave before returning his attention to the other hopeful students. Nathan decided to follow suit. He didn’t think it would be too much of a competition. Even if the robots were shielded somewhat it was more than likely he had enough power to fry them through such things. Not to mention that straight up electricity attacks were not the only weapon in his arsenal.

“START!”

That announcement came so suddenly that none of the examinees responded immediately.

Except one.

He propelled himself forward with a burst of electromagnetic energy.

The entire area was artificial so there was metal everywhere for him to latch on to and repel himself from.

He soared over the stunned audience, latching onto a nearby building and pulling himself ahead with a massive burst of speed.

It was surprising to him though. Weren’t they hero hopefuls?

How can you just stand around when you hear a call to action?

No matter. It offered him an early edge. He was the first into the center of his designated arena.

He reached out with his right arm.

An odd hum escaped it as it began to generate power.

“Now then. Let’s run some tests…”

The safe assumption was that the robots were shielded to an immense degree so he would need to attack the sensors first. Thankfully they were very obviously placed. He let his arm build up a million volts. He throttled his amperage by only discharging the attack through a third of his scales.

The scales covering his right eye shifted slightly. They were plugged directly into his optic nerves, allowing him to ‘See’ electromagnetic fields at work. He would observe how his attack traveled through his target and decide where to go from there.

The Three pointer he’d attacked was downed in an instant, each of its sensors exploding from the overwhelming power of the attack.

He let out a sigh of relief. He could lower his power significantly and still take out the machines. And there were so many spread out before him, simply waiting for their inevitable demise. He let his arm charge up again and attacked in a massive arc.

At least a dozen robots fell from having their inner workings overloaded by the sheer amount of power Nathan was pumping into them.

It was only now that the other applicants started catching up to him.

In response he simply continued his advance. The less people that were around him the less he would have to throttle his attacks. Friendly fire was something he’d needed extensive training to work past but the simple fact was that it was easier to avoid it if there were just no allies in the area.

He continued on, relentlessly frying any robot that drew too close.

He hadn’t really been counting how many points he had, if he had to guess he was somewhere in the 50s by now. His run had been almost completely solitary but the other applicants were fairly spread out by now.

So it came as no surprise when he ran into someone else.

She tossed a pair of pebbles at a two pointer she’d surprised.

“Giant!”

With that simple command those pebbles increased in size several times over. The two pointer underneath them never stood a chance.

He was about to turn to leave before the building between them exploded.

At the moment of impact he registered it.

The Zero Pointer had arrived on the battlefield.

Debris showered down on the two of them. There was little doubt they would be crushed under the remains of the building as that enormous automaton made its way to the central area of the exam.

Nathan took action immediately.

He couldn’t use his top speed. The girl was not far enough away for him to reach it and then slow down enough to not injure her on impact. Thankfully he genuinely doubted his top speed would be required here.

A power that existed outside of his quirk flooded his body, reinforcing it beyond its limits and allowing him to explode forward with much more force than he could normally take.

The shower of debris was far enough above them that he didn’t even have to weave through it. Although that was more a testament to his reaction time than his actual speed.

He scooped her up and magnetically latched onto the Zero pointer to slow himself.

The entire event had only taken a few seconds.

They skidded to a halt a few meters away from the shower of debris.

“You alright?” Nathan asked, focusing his attention to the girl in his arms.

She gave a soft squeak in response

He took that as a yes and began to set her down.

She was trembling so she needed to brace herself against him.

Thankfully she didn’t seem to be injured.

Another crash brought Nathan’s attention back to the Zero pointer.

It was worth nothing to destroy it…

But if it was going to put other students in danger. 

He looked around for a moment. There was plenty of rubble around but he was looking for something specific.

“Um-”

“I’m going to go take care of that big thing so nobody else gets hurt. Hopefully I’ll see you at the finish line as well,” Nathan said, turning a smile towards that girl.

A soft eep escaped her as she froze up again.

He left her presence before she had time to recover.

He found a piece of debris that suited his needs perfectly.

A fragment of an I-Bar that was small enough for him to carry. He scooped it up in his left hand before launching himself to the top of a nearby building.

Intel was essential for his next move. He needed to know where most of the students were. When firing a powerful attack it was very important to make sure nothing you weren’t willing to lose was in the way.

\---

Kaminari Denki was running for his life.

For some reason that Zero pointer had locked onto him and was smashing its way through everything in order to reach him.

Probably because he’d fried a few dozen of its buddies.

But! But that was unfair! Surely that Nathan kid had done just the same! Why hadn’t it targeted him instead!?

He forgot his footing as his thoughts turned to admonishing his electricity betrayer. So it came to no one’s surprise when he tripped on a robot that he himself had defeated.

Karma was not on his side today.

The Zero pointer came to a stop as it turned to orient itself towards him probably in order to get a better shot. Maybe? It had to have guns right?

This theory was dashed when it kept on turning,

He was too relieved at not being the primary target that he didn’t even think to consider who was pulling its attention.

He was just glad it wasn’t him.

\---

“That’s it. Come on. I’m right here!”

Nathan Relnor stood in a mostly empty street.

The ground let out an occasional rumble as that Zero Pointer approached him.

He had not drawn its attention by attacking it.

No.

He had simply generated a large enough threat that it had no choice but to target him.

The air swirled around him as he built up an enormous amount of electromagnetic force. He held his left hand to his right shoulder to brace himself.

He hadn’t exactly planned on using one of his aces in the entrance exam but after seeing the Zero Pointer for himself he knew he needed to take it out.

It was a stage hazard after all.

In other words, it was a hazard to everyone on the stage.

An enemy that endangered the lives of everyone around him had to be defeated. 

‘ _If you have power you should use it to protect others.’_

His right arm split open, forming two columns of black scales with the broken I-Bar hovering between them.

Yes.

It was a mistake Midoriya had made that he hadn’t bothered to correct.

His right arm was not covered in scales.

His right arm was entirely made out of scales.

That arrangement allowed his mediocre quirk to generate a truly monstrous level of power.

Enough power to fire a railgun.

The Zero pointer was nearly on top of him.

He angled his arm further up and pulled the trigger.

A blinding flash of light tore through his opponent in an instant.

The scent of ozone filled the air as a streak of orange light shot off into the distance. Nathan doubted his projectile would land as a solid chunk. It simply was not designed to survive the level of air friction that came with being fired at three times the speed of sound. No matter the actual outcome did he’d angled his shot towards the woods beyond the examination site anyway just to be on the safe side.

He watched as that Zero Pointer staggered and collapsed into a heap of fire and wreckage.

Finally, he allowed himself to relax. Carefully his arm began to knit itself back together. His scales had an upper limit of how much power they could store and release. If he asked too much of them they would blow like a fuse.

Firing that railgun was demanding and left his arm somewhat depleted, but if he needed to he could fire up to two more.

That was simply how many scales comprised that arm.

He turned his attention back to the exam.

Did he need more points? It was difficult to say but he might as well continue fighting. Or maybe he should just keep an eye on the other students. He didn’t want to consume all of the points for himself after all.

With a snap his arm returned to normal. He opened and closed his right hand just to make sure his fingers still had what little functionality he could give them before moving on.

\---

“Two Zero Pointers defeated in one test,” A small mouse-like creature said from its position seated in front of several monitors.

“How absurd… Do kids not know the meaning of holding back anymore?” A well built man said as he leaned back into his chair.

“Moreover. The first one. Was that a goddamn Railgun? Where on earth did he learn how to do that without alerting any authorities!?” A man clad in what looked to be some form of construction equipment said in an exasperated tone.

Yes. They truly had an unprecedented scenario on their hands. One student had jumped above and beyond to save a single person.

Another had moved to eliminate a threat that he felt brought a clear danger to everyone.

That was where their ideologies diverged.

“Well… We’ve certainly got our work cut out for us this year.”

“I’ll say.”

\---

The written test immediately followed the practical one. This one was almost harder for him simply because writing was such a slow process .

He had always been right handed so when _a certain incident_ resulted in his right arm being severed about half way up his bicep he had been forced to switch hands.

Writing was a bit of a lower priority given everything else that had happened after he lost his arm so he only had just under a year’s worth of practice.

It was legible but it looked like a seven year old had written it. That was simply the limit of his current ability, especially considering Japanese was not his native language.

Hoping for the best he exited the testing area. He’d tried to find Midoriya but he hadn’t seen him after the practical exam let out.

There were some murmurs of an injury… Did Midoriya’s quirk really have that much recoil to it? No wonder he almost never used it.

Nathan lingered for a moment in front of UA.

He at least had to have confirmation before he left.

“HEEEY THERE! WHAT ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE WEARING THAT LONG FACE!? THE EXAM THAT HARD?”

Nathan turned to the source of the loud voice.

It was the exam proctor, Present Mic.

“Oh. I was waiting to try and meet up with my friend. At the very least I wanted to confirm his status before leaving.”

“Mmm. I can ask around, who was your friend?”

“Midoriya Izuku. I heard some rumbling that someone was injured and I just wanted to make sure he was ok before I left…”

“It’s great that you’re worried about your friend! He’s in good hands I can assure you! I’m pretty sure he’s the one Recovery Girl is taking care of. She’s the best so you can run back home with your head held high!” Present Mic said after giving him an exaggerated thumbs up.

Nathan let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. The worry that had gripped his heart eased considerably and a smile returned to his face.

“Thank you. I’ll be off then,”

“No problem! Have a safe trip back now!”

“I will.”

He approached UA’s front gate. Beyond it sat Carmilla, her car idling on the side of the road.

 _“I was worried when I didn’t see you exit with the others. Is everything alright?”_ She asked as he took the passenger seat.

_“I’m fine. Fired my railgun but other than that nothing big. I was just worried about Midoriya. Seems he was afraid of his quirk’s recoil for a good reason…”_

_“I see. Shall we go home?”_

_“Sure. I could use a nap.”_

_“Fufufu, very well.”_ She hit the gas starting their journey back. _“So, how do you think you did?”_

The roar of the air rushing by them wasn’t quite enough to drown out conversational dialogue, a testament to how well designed her vehicle was.

_“I probably passed? It was robots. Their tolerance level was lower than Edison’s mechs so I just fried a bunch of them. We’ll get our results in about a week or so I’m told.”_

_“Well, at least it wasn’t too difficult. I did receive a rather urgent phone call when Chaldea detected your railgun.”_

_“Ah. That. I should let them know they don’t need to be that watchful. There was just a stage hazard I decided to take out to protect the other students.”_

_“How very like you.”_ She let out a soft chuckle before reaching over to pinch his cheek, _“But don’t overdo it. You’re done having to save the world, just focus on saving the people in front of you.”_

He let out a murmur as his gaze drifted to the buildings rushing by them. He had immediately gone back to jumping to meet the biggest threat in the area hadn’t he? Hopefully this UA would help him beat that habit out of his head.

The rest of the drive passed in relative silence and they arrived back at their home in short order.

Carmilla pulled up to a nondescript warehouse which obligingly opened its garage door for her to drive right in.

As soon as the door shut the interior of the building lit up, revealing a large military vehicle parked in the center with its cargo doors open.

The convertible they’d rode in disappeared into a cloud of golden sparks after they exited it.

 _“Welcome back. I assume everything went ok?”_ A dapper man greeted them from his position leaning against the side of that large black vehicle.

 _“Were you really that worried Sherlock?”_ Nathan asked with a playful air.

_“After we detected the railgun there was some commotion. I simply thought it would be best to avoid all of it by waiting for you out here.”_

_“I see. Well then. I’m home.”_

_“Yes. Welcome home Master.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Historically Carmilla knows a few languages but she's speaking Hungarian here. We'll get more into Chaldea shenanigans directly later but we've officially switched to Nathan's perspective of things for the most part. 
> 
> You all know how Midoriya's exam went so I figured it'd be cool to cover another test ground. Unless I'm mistaken they used five of them and split the applicants into different areas so I just had a few people who didn't show up in the managa/anime in the background of Nathan's area.
> 
> I think I'm going to stick to updating on Fridays for the most part? I just wanted to get a little more than the prologue out there pretty fast.
> 
> Next up! Two friends start their UA journey! Their goals and ideology diverge but they both walk the path of being a true hero!


	3. The first step on the long road to (Heroics)(Recovery)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After overcoming the entrance exam, Nathan and Midoriya start on their UA journey together. But that was just the first of many hurdles.
> 
> Once again italicized dialogue is anything that isn't spoken in Japanese

“Somehow, designing a hero costume completely slipped my mind,” Nathan said in an exasperated tone.

“Oh! I guess I forgot to mention that! Sorry Relnor-san,” Midoriya said, his voice coming from Nathan’s phone.

“I’ve got a couple of people helping me out with it so it should be good to submit before our first day.”

Yes.

They had both made the cut.

Midoriya had called him the day after the exams sobbing about how he had utterly failed to score a single point in the practical exam.

Nathan had tried his best to reassure him that there was no way simply destroying robots was all that mattered. After all, evaluations probably wouldn’t take a week if that was the only metric they were measuring.

Unfortunately cold logic could not penetrate Midoriya’s disappointment in himself. Despite Nathan’s best efforts he languished for the entire week until his acceptance letter came in.

Midoriya had gotten in on his excellent written exam and a healthy supply of rescue points he’d earned from saving a fellow student from a Zero Pointer. Apparently he’d destroyed one of those goliaths as well.

Nathan felt a little bad that they’d have to replace two expensive pieces of machinery but they had an entire year to do it so he was sure they’d manage something.

Nathan’s own acceptance letter had been glowing. He hadn’t really been counting so when his villain point score came in lower than he expected he wasn’t too surprised.

It was still fairly high at 47, but his rescue point score was just as high, giving him the top score of the entrance exam.

Apparently this meant he had obligations which was something he wasn’t looking forward to. When he saw his score he honestly wished he’d held back a little more.

“Alright. What do you think of ths?” Hokusai asked, holding up her latest sketch.

She’d been through about half a dozen designs at this point and was growing increasingly more frantic to produce something that he approved of.

He looked at it pensively for a moment before nodding. He reached over and grabbed his phone from where he’d placed it on the table.

“Hm. Yeah. Yeah I like this one a lot… Hey Midoriya I’m gonna switch to video real fast tell me what you think of this one.”

“Ok!”

After fumbling with his phone for a moment he pointed the camera at Hokusai and her design.

“Oh! That is really nice! Minimalist but with enough unique features to make it identifiable! It looks a bit like a modern take on a silver age design!”

“Haaaah! Finally! I’m glad you like my design Master-dono and friend!”

Nathan held his right hand over the speaker causing it to give a bit of feedback in order to drown out her use of his title. He didn’t want Midoriya to get any weird ideas.

“Sorry bout that,” He said after turning off the video feed, “Anyway I’m gonna go get this workshopped a little more, thanks for helping out Midoriya.”

“It’s no problem at all! I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“Yeah. See you then, UA Student Midoriya Izuku.”

With that he pocketed his phone before turning back to Hokusai.

“I am sorry Master-dono but I really just can’t bring myself to use your name… It’s embarrassing.”

“I understand. Don’t worry about it. I think we’re still good… Thank you for all your hard work on this. I know I put a lot of unreasonable requests on the table…”

“Master-dono, I pledged my brush to your cause a long time ago. Besides this is nothing compared to some of Toto-sama’s more demanding clients.” She responded with a playful laugh. A small octopus hovered up from behind her, having darted out of sight when talk of video calls started.

“Let's get this to a couple of the Casters and see if we can figure out how to staple some mystic codes onto it after UA puts it all together.”

“Sure thing Master-dono!”

With a yawn and a stretch of his arms Nathan got up from the table they’d been working at. His door opened automatically as he approached it, revealing a sleek white hall.

They walked together chatting aimlessly until they came to a door that required a passcode to open.

The electronic door slid open revealing a massive multi tiered room. Its contents were difficult to process as it seemed to contain several different personalized spaces that wildly clashed when taken as a whole.

“Oh. Hello Master. What brings you to the Workshops today?” A woman garbed in a purple robe asked as she floated down to meet them.

“We finalized my hero costume design and I was wondering if we could give it the good ol Chaldean treatment of trying to shove as many mystic codes into it as possible.”

“I WANNA HELP!” Another woman, wearing a white robe who’s neckline dipped all the way to her waist glided down. She furled her black wings behind her as she landed, giving Nathan an excited smile.

“Oh? Do my ears deceive me? The Master of Chaldea has come to the Workshops? I suppose I’ll have to lend my support as well!”

“You’re the one that dragged me here saying that Master would need us, so please stop with this surprised act.”

A flowery man dressed in elaborate white robes approached flanked by a sharply dressed man who looked like he hadn’t slept in five years.

“This should be more than enough,” Nathan said with a smile, “Let’s get to work.”

Yes.

On paper Chaldea was a reserve unit of powerful heroes that responded to emergencies exclusively.

That was the cover they used to integrate into modern Japanese society as smoothly as they could manage.

They played the role of a mysterious organization with shadowy leadership that existed only to help people.

But in reality they were an organization from the other side of the world. The side that practiced and coveted the mysterious power of magic.

Chaldea was an organization that had been dedicated to preserving the integrity of proper human history, using a combination of magic and technology to call forth Heroic Spirits of all kinds to aid in their cause.

Those heroes were tied to one person that served as their anchor in the modern era.

Five years ago, an 11 year old boy joined Chaldea by chance having been picked up during a villain incident by its founder.

When the worst came to pass he was the only one standing with the capability of becoming that anchor.

Thus, Nathan Relnor became the Master of Chaldea.

\---

Here he was. Despite everything. He had hesitated every step of the way but he had finally been given the right shove.

He walked down UA’s halls towards his classroom. He’d wanted to go with Midoriya but he’d run into a few unexpected snags.

Having over 50 parental figures try to personally see him off had slowed his departure considerably. He’d been forced to ask Gilgamesh to give him a ride on the Vimana just to make sure he wasn’t late.

Pushing the massive door aside, Nathan entered the class and was immediately accosted.

“Eeeey! You made it! Electricity bros for life!” Kaminari shouted, beckoning him over to his desk.

Nathan nodded, passing by a boy with rough blond hair arguing with the one that had singled out Midoriya as a distraction during the entrance exam. 

“Ey high five man! I knew that’d be no sweat for the two of us right!?” He held his hand up expectantly. Reluctantly Nathan completed the gesture with his right hand. Since holding it as an open palm was one of the few things he could actually make it do he figured it’d probably be alright.

“Glad to see you made it too Kaminari Denki,” Nathan said, offering the boy a light bow. The seats around his Quirk partner were taken so he opted for one in the far corner. Not quite in the back, but enough to make him feel comfortable.

He placed his bag before regarding that rough boy once again.

Although he supposed he already knew that student’s name.

Bakugo Katsuki.

Midoriya had mentioned him a few times in moments of self doubt.

They had come from the same school and apparently Bakugo had made Midoriya his personal punching bag.

It left a bad taste in Nathan’s mouth, but he had become friends with people who had done far far worse.

“Oh. Hello.” A girl with long black hair wrapped in an odd ponytail greeted him formally.

“Hello. Was this seat taken?” He asked giving her an equally formal greeting.

“No no… I was just going to sit behind you if you don’t mind.”

“No worries. My name’s Nathan Relnor.”

“Yaoyorozu Momo. A pleasure.”

She certainly gave off an upper class air. It was something he was all too familiar with given the absurd amount of royalty he had to deal with on a daily basis.

“Truly a banquet of madness.” Another voice cut in. Briefly Nathan’s attention fell to the boy who had a stylized crow’s head before his attention was drawn to what that boy was commenting on.

Midoriya Izuku had walked into class.

At least that proper glasses clad boy was giving him his dues. Although Bakugo seemed to be building up more and more tension as Midoriya spoke.

An explosion was imminent, Nathan just wondered how long it’d take for his fuse to burn up.

He was about to wave Midoriya over when another girl approached him and began talking to him. 

She sure did say some interesting things.

“Oh? So that’s why he pushed himself so far,” Nathan said softly.

“Hm?” The boy with the crow head turned to Nathan.

“Ah. Sorry. I was just listening in on them. I know the curly haired one,” He explained.

“I see. He’s one of the ones that took out a Zero pointer yes? Truly a mighty power… Tokoyami Fumikage by the way. I overheard you introduce yourself earlier Nathan-san so no need to repeat yourself.”

Internally he scolded himself once again, “Sorry, Relnor’s actually my family name, I’m from the UK.”

“Oh. My apologies.”

“What brought you to Japan if you don’t mind my asking?” Yaoyorozu asked.

“Family business.”

“I see.”

Before the conversation could continue further a figure announced itself before crawling into the classroom in a sleeping bag. He shed the bright yellow bag and revealed himself to be their homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shota.

“Put these on and shove off to the PE grounds immediately.”

\---

Holding that uniform in his hand, he wasn’t entirely thrilled with it. It was short sleeved which was convenient. His quirk tended to blow away fabric if he used with too much force. But. His left arm. No. His entire body…

“You gonna change or you gonna just stare at that thing all day?” A student with black hair asked.

“I guess I don’t have any other options…” Nathan said in a hushed tone. As soon as that boy stopped paying attention to him he altered his breathing. Everything about his movements became smooth. He let go of his presence and to everyone else in the locker room he almost completely disappeared.

It was a skill he’d picked up during his travels. It was a far cry from true Presence Concealment, but against untrained people around his age? It would be just good enough. As long as he didn’t draw attention to himself there was a good chance he would go unnoticed by the rest of the boys.

He slipped off his blazer and quickly changed into his PE uniform.

Since no one had stopped to gasp and remark at the state of his body he assumed he’d managed to keep himself hidden in plain sight. With his period of exposure over he allowed his breathing to return to normal.

He joined up with the others as they made their way to the designated area.

They found Aizawa already waiting for them. 

“This is a quirk apprehension test,” He announced simply. He was met with a few murmurs but continued anyway, “The physical exams you took in school where you were barred from using your quirk, we will be redoing them here. But this time you’re not to hold anything back. Bakugo, step up to the circle,”

The boy compiled before being tossed a ball.

“How far could you pitch a softball in middle school?”

“67 meters,”

“Use your quirk this time. As long as you don’t step out of the circle anything is fair game. No holding back.”

They watched as Bakugo took a step back, steadied himself, and launched the ball with a blast of explosive power.

It was immediately obvious how much further using his quirk allowed him to pitch.

This was hammered home when Aizawa held out his phone.

705.2 meters.

“Before anything else, you must know what you are capable of. This is your starting line.”

Excitement spread through the class. To be allowed to use their quirks on an assessment like this was something they had only dreamed of before.

Nathan furrowed his brow.

He did not share this feeling with his class.

_ ‘I wonder… What my scores were back then…’ _

Aizawa was quick to head off the class before they got too excited. His presence shifted ever so slightly as he declared that the person who scored the lowest would be expelled immediately. It was a brutal reminder of the stakes that came with being a hero.

But after all the rigermerol of actually getting into UA, Nathan wasn’t about to lose his cool here. Especially considering how much worse the trials he had already faced were.

Trial one was a 50 meter dash. Nathan was in the middle of the pack so he simply watched as the others took their turns. At least until he noticed Midoriya sweating bullets next to him.

“You still can’t properly use your quirk without breaking anything can you?” Nathan asked.

“No…”

Nathan looked furtive for a moment. Midoriya had trained and trained and yet he still couldn’t quite get a good handle on his power.

“Once we clear this we should talk about your power. I feel like I’ve been a bad friend for waiting so long to try and actually help you manage it but I guess I just didn’t realize how bad it was…”

“Th-That would be great! And- and you don’t- You’re not a bad friend if I’m the one who never told you!” Midoriya said firmly.

Nathan just offered him a smile. Upon hearing his number he took place next to one Yaoyorozu Momo.

“Stay clear of the end of the track, I’ll need room to slow back down.”

The congregation of students who thought they were far enough away simply shrugged and shuffled over.

The maximum amount of Gs an unprotected human could handle without passing out was around 5.

Power that had nothing to do with his quirk flooded his body.

Yes.

In order to hold the title of Master of Chaldea Nathan had been forced to enter the world of magic. He wasn’t a particularly skilled magus by any stretch of the word, but it was a power that was a part of him and he’d been told to hold nothing back.

And one of the most basic applications of that power was Reinforcement.

He could now push himself to 7Gs of acceleration. With his body reinforced he would not pass out from that extra force.

Thankfully there was a large building behind him that he could repel himself from. He generated power throughout all of his scales. His limbs gave off an odd hum as they reached the level of energy they’d need to push him somewhere close to that speed.

Fainty he registered the starting signal.

He reached 50 m/s in just under a second.

He counted to one after hearing the signal and immediately started pulling himself towards the building he’d initially pushed off of.

He ground to a halt, using his left leg and right arm to dig into the earth without endangering himself. He’d overshot the end point by quite a bit but he was supposed to be going plus ultra.

Standing up and dusting himself off he glanced back to his opponent who hadn’t even gotten off the starting line before he exploded past her.

At least he hadn’t broken the sound barrier.

“Fucking hell…” He heard one of the girls mutter.

Nathan returned to Midoriya’s side while shaking the dirt out from between his scales.

“Dude what was that!?” An empty gym uniform ran up to him and Midoriya.

“What do you mean?” Nathan asked.

“How’d you go that fast!? That was insane!”

“Electromagnetism. I generated a ton of power and used it to push myself off of the frame of that building over there.”

“Duuuuude! So you’ve got an electricity quirk!?”

“Only technically. My quirk is called Surge Scale,” Nathan said, holding his right hand out, “I can grow these scales that have the ability to generate and discharge electricity.”

“Wooooah! So you covered your whole arm in them?”

Nathan opened his mouth before pausing. He did not want to start lying to his fellow students before he even learned their names.

But admitting he had actually lost his arm and replaced it with his quirk was a lot.

They were supposed to be pushing past their limits.

“No.”

Midoriya’s head turned towards Nathan in the next instant.

“This is my arm.”

A crack sounded as his right hand split open, revealing nothing but scales all the way through.

“What!?” Midoriya called out, inspecting Nathan’s hand carefully.

There was simply no flesh to be found.

“So your eye and your leg?”

“Yup.”

He knew what the burning question on their minds was. They could see some of the scars on his left arm. If they looked hard enough they could probably see the ones at the base of his neck too.

“That’s unreal!? How did you even get it to do that?”

“Lots and lots of trial and error.” Nathan said with a casual chuckle that perhaps should not accompany talking about replacing missing limbs.

“17 and 18, you’re up.”

Midoriya looked pensive.

“Hey. Relnor-san. If you want to talk or anything…”

“Maybe. But you have a trial to overcome. Focus on getting through this first and everything else can come later.”

He gave a small wave as Midoriya left to take his place at the starting line.

“I’m Hagakure Toru by the way, nice to meet ya!” The invisible girl finally introduced herself.

“Relnor Nathan,” He said with a smile. He felt like he’d overcome a massive obstacle but in reality he’d only remembered to flip his name because Midoriya had just addressed him directly.

Still, he needed to take wins where he could. He started to reform his hand into its default state, scales clicking back into place as he watched Bakugo literally blast past Midoriya.

If he could not use his quirk he would be near the bottom of the bracket.

Everyone here had a quirk that would let them excel in at least one of the 8 trails.

If Midoriya couldn’t get that one exceptional result he was in trouble.

But would their teacher really expel them on day one?

Nathan’s eye trailed its way over to Aizawa.

From how he’d spoken he definitely sounded serious.

But was it a ruse to pull out the best in everyone?

Or was it a ruse to pull out the best in a single person?

The next trial was a test of their grip strength so they went inside to get to the proper measuring equipment. Nathan had no real way to give himself an advantage here. That right hand that could only mechanically open and close and did not do so particularly forcefully. He decided not to even bother with reinforcement as he squeezed that device with his left hand.

They moved back outside for the next trail. A standing long jump. Another simple task Nathan could excel at. There was no need to test his acceleration to its limit again so while his strategy was the same as the 50 meter dash he did not push off with nearly as much force.

He didn’t really feel the need to land either. Ever so gently he pushed off of the trace metals in the ground beneath him and allowed himself to hover until he ran into the far fence.

His antics earned him a tired expression from Aizawa and yet more cheers from Hagakure and Kaminari.

The fourth trial was a sustained side jump competition. Perhaps the first true dud of the trials Nathan had faced so far.

The second he planted on his left leg wrong it bent at a 90 degree angle and he went tumbling out of the side jump. Much like his right arm, his left leg was entirely constructed of scales. Continuous side jumping was not something Nathan had bothered to account for when designing how to fit scales into a new leg so it was only natural that it would fail here.

A prosthetic, no matter how good, had its drawbacks when compared to the thing it was replacing.

“You ok?” Yaoyorazu asked, flanked by a girl with black hair and… Headphone jacks coming out of her ears?

“Yeah. Legs not designed for that kind movement so it just buckled.”

“I saw, it looked like you sprained your ankle pretty bad!”

He dusted himself off before stepping down on that left leg a few times. The two girls flinched the first time he did it but when he didn’t react at all they relaxed.

“It’s fine, I don’t really have to worry about injuries like that with this leg.”

“Is it a prosthetic!? Made out of your quirk?”

“Yup.”

The two girls gave him a horrified look.

He turned away from them before they could start asking questions he had no intention of answering truthfully.

The fifth trial was a ball toss. Nathan stepped up to the circle. The ball had sensors in it but it wasn’t made of enough metal for him to launch it properly. If he tried it would just explode the moment it left his hand.

So he switched to his left and reinforced his arm. Reinforcement magic gave him about a sixty percent increase on whatever demand he was making of his body. In this case his arm strength had been the target.

His throw registered at 93 Meters, which was respectable for a normal person but after watching that gravity girl float her ball into the atmosphere it was entirely unimpressive.

No matter, he already had two ridiculous results to his name.

He took a step back as he watched Midoriya get ready to throw.

The boy looked like he was about to lose it on the spot. The desperation was getting to him. He just needed one exceptional result, but how far was he willing to go to get it?

“He’s not doing too well today is he?”

“Course not, he doesn’t have a quirk!”

“What? Did you not see what he did at the entrance exam!?”

While the glasses boy and Bakugo were arguing the gravity girl slid up beside him.

“Hey. You’re his friend right? What do you think is going to happen?”

“He will sink or swim,” Nathan said, eye firmly fixed on Midoriya.

He watched with senses honed from countless magical battles.

He could see it, ever so faintly.

Power.

Power too great for the human body to handle without shattering.

Midoriya flooded his right arm with power as he swung.

His arm would be destroyed but he would receive that exceptional result.

Nathan watched Midoriya commit to that sacrifice.

But that result did not come to pass.

The moment of his throw Midoriya’s power was suppressed by an outside influence.

Nathan turned to Aizawa, who had affixed a glare on Midoriya.

“46 meters.”

Midoriya looked like he was about to fall over dead. Aizawa stepped up, announcing that he’d erased his quirk and going on about how Midoriya couldn’t become a hero if he himself needed to be saved every time he acted.

Nathan didn’t entirely agree with that assessment but he recognized that he had an extremely loose definition of hero at this point.

After all. At the beginning hadn’t he needed saving every time he took so much as a single misstep?

Aizawa released Midoriya from his own quirk, stipulating that he would surely fail if he destroyed his arm.

He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Use his quirk to achieve an exceptional result and prove Aizawa right, or preserve his body and take last place. But.

“After all that hard work, you can see between that binary can’t you Midoriya?”

He didn’t realize he’d spoken that aloud until the gravity girl gave him an odd look.

Once again, Midoriya took to the circle.

He reared back his arm.

Nathan could not see that welling of power.

What would he sacrifice to follow his dream?

He threw.

The ball exploded forward, registering at 705.3 meters.

“How…” Nathan muttered before the realization struck him. Midoriya’s finger was broken. He waited until the last possible moment to unleash his power in such a way that it did minimal damage while achieving such a result.

Nathan was about to call out to congratulate his friend before Bakugo stormed forward. He’d been so relieved that he’d forgotten entirely about the simmering teen next to him. Thankfully Aizawa reacted faster than he did, wrapping Bakugo in his capture weapon and preventing him from whatever he’d been planning to do.

“Nice work,” Nathan said with a smile as Midoriya approached him.

“Thanks!”

Midoriya’s smile was wide and there were tears in the eyes from the pain he was enduring, but he had truly cleared his first hurdle. 

“I’ve got a long way to go so I need to work ten times harder if I’m going to catch up to everyone.”

“You’ll get there. I know you will. You’ve got the makings for a great hero Midoriya Izuku.”

The sixth trial was a seated toe touch.

Perhaps the easiest of the trails so far for Nathan. He was already fairly flexible despite the massive accumulation of scar tissue.

Not to mention that his left leg and right arm were prosthetics with some amount of give to them. He didn’t even pay enough attention to the trial to figure out how exactly they were being scored.

And he wasn’t the only one.

After seeing that throw from Midoriya, Aizawa seemed to be less interested in the results himself.

Had he really gone that far just to see if Midoriya deserved to be here?

He would never argue that this whole exercise hadn’t taught Midoriya a lesson he desperately needed to learn.

But wasn’t this all a little on the extreme side?

The seventh trial was endurance running.

Aizawa had a headache as he watched Relnor not even bother with actually running. He used the same trick he had on the long jump and simply hovered a few inches off the ground while pushing himself around with electromagnetism.

It didn’t help that Nathan’s quirk would be difficult for him to work with.

His quirk could not cancel mutation type quirks.

Nathan grew physical scales with his quirk and those scales in turn produced the electricity he was flying around with. The electricity itself was not his quirk.

He was dealing with an overachiever that had actively sought out and destroyed a monstrous target in order to protect the other examinees. One that could not be easily stopped.

The final trial was upper body exercises. Another dud for Nathan. His right arm was simply not as sturdy as his left. If it reached its limit it would break and he did not exactly feel the need to push himself far enough to have to replace his arm on his first day at UA.

Nathan came to a stop next to Hagakure and Yaoyorozu.

“Haaaaah… I’m really worried about this!” The invisible girl said in a panicked tone of voice.

“It will be ok.” Nathan said with a smile.

Hagakure opened her mouth to chastise him but something strange happened.

He was looking her directly in the eyes.

Clothes usually helped people guess where her body was just by how they moved. But even then it was a rare thing for someone to actually look her in the eyes. She’d gotten so used to conversation partners not quite meeting her stare that it wasn’t something she considered rude anymore.

But when the opposite happened…

“Well… Time to present the results.”

Midoriya looked despondent, he had only scored well in that one trial. Nathan wanted to reach out to him but…

“Oh yeah that whole expulsion thing was a lie.”

He didn’t really need to.

“It was a logical ruse to get you to push yourselves,” Aizawa said with a grin that looked positively manic.

Yaoyorozu just let out a sigh as she watched about half of the class break down in cheers.

“It was obvious wasn’t it? There was no way he would expel us under such a flimsy pretense.”

Nathan had to disagree with her evaluation. Aizawa had been serious when he made that proclamation. He had simply changed his mind halfway through. 

Aizawa handed Midoriya a slip to go see the nurse before the rest of the class returned to change out of their PE clothes.

But Nathan held back a moment.

“Aizawa-sensei.”

“What is it Relnor?”

“Is there any way I can change in private?”

Aizawa paused to look at the student before him. Nathan pulled up his right sleeve over his shoulder revealing about six horrible scars.

“It um… It makes me uncomfortable. At least right now. I’m sure I’ll get used to it over time but I’ve been-”

“You can change in the nurse’s office for now. It’s not too far away from 1-A.”

“Thank you very much Aizawa-sensei!”

Aizawa watched the boy leave.

He would need to submit another request for information on the boy.

It was odd that Relnor’s files were coming from Chaldea but apparently that’s just where the boy lived.

What exactly had he endured during his time there?

“What even leaves scars like that…” he muttered to himself before turning.

He was met immediately by All Might which did absolutely nothing to help his mood.

\---

“How do you feel?” Nathan asked.

“Exhausted,” Midoriya muttered. Briefly Nathan wondered if he should just carry the boy. Apparently UA had a nurse on staff with a powerful healing quirk. It used the targets stamina to speed up their natural healing ability which explained Midoriya’s general lethargy. Nathan could relate to something like that considering how demanding his treatments tended to be.

At least it had only been his finger.

“But. I’m still here. Last place isn’t exactly a good start but I’m still here…”

“Of course. Being on the playing field means you have the opportunity to pull ahead.”

“How’s your finger?”

The glasses-clad boy approached Midoriya from behind.

Nathan had once wanted to fight him for calling out Midoriya at the entrance exam, but now that he knew him just that little bit better he could tell that he hadn’t meant any malice by it.

He was just earnest and straightforward. He went off about how Aizawa had really fooled him with that quirk apprehension test before pausing mid sentence.

“I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. My name is Iida Tenya,” He said to Nathan.

“Nathan Relnor.”

“Relnor-san.”

“Sorry, Relnor Nathan.” He broke eye contact with Iida to silently admonish himself. He’d done so well earlier! Why was this habit so hard to break? Thankfully Midoriya quickly cleared the misunderstanding with Iida.

“Hey! Hey you three!”

“Oh. The infinity girl?”

The three turned their attention to the student approaching them.

“Hi! I’m Uraraka Ochako. And you’re um… Iida Tenya! And uh-”  
“Relnor Nathan,”

“And you’re Midoriya Deku right?”

“Deku!?” Midoriya snorted out.

“Isn’t that what that Bakugo kid called you?”

“Y-Yes well um… My name is actually Izuku! Deku is just what Kacchan calls me to demean me”

“So it’s an insult!”

Nathan’s eye narrowed. Maybe he could indulge in a little friendly fire at some point.

Just a little.

“Oh I’m sorry!” She gave a quick bow of apology before continuing, “But. I kind of like Deku for you! It gives the whole ‘never give up’ vibe you know!”

“Hi I’m Deku!” He immediately shouted, his face a deep red.

As Iida protested Nathan let out a hearty laugh. This brought the other three, Midoriya especially, to a halt.

“You really are something else Midoriya Izuku,” Nathan said after quickly getting the laugh out of his system.

This was… This was good. UA was a human institution but it was extreme enough to feel familiar. That something could make him drop his guard enough to genuinely laugh…

“Are the three of you heading to the station? Do you mind if I join you?” Uraraka asked.

“I’m actually getting picked up at the gate again.”

“Oh in the convertible?” Midoriya asked.

“Doubtful. There was… A bit of a commotion this morning. Apparently giving me a ride is a hot commodity with them now.”  
Iida and Uraraka were completely left in the dust by the conversation.

But even Midoriya Izuku with all of his familiarity with Nathan was lost when they reached the gate and a large heavily armored centaur greeted them.

A centaur with a horse’s head.

_ “Oh. You’re the one taking me back Red Hare?” _ Nathan asked, completely oblivious to his new friends’ confusion.

In fact his words only brought them more confusion.

He’d switched languages the moment he started speaking to that hero.

_ “Yes! I won the ancient right via rock paper scissors!” _ The boisterous man let out a sharp neighing noise before gently bending down so Nathan could more easily climb on his back.

_ “I’ll see you guys tomorrow I suppose. Have a safe trip home.” _

“Uh-”

_ “LET US RIDE TO THE EDGE OF THE EARTH!” _ Red Hare shouted before exploding forward. It was only barely enough warning for Nathan to grab a hold of something before he actually took off.

_ “WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIIIIIIIS!?” _ Nathan shouted.

\---

After a frankly delicious meal Nathan set aside some time to finally call his erstwhile friend. He took the time to set up a small fort of pillows for him to relax in while he talked. 

“Hello Midoriya Izuku speaking?”

“Hey Midoriya, it’s Nathan,” He said, “I wanted to talk to you about your quirk. Is this a good time?”

“Oh yeah! I just got finished with dinner so it’s a good time for me!”

“Good, good. So what exactly do you experience when you use it?”

“Um. Like an overwhelming swell of power. I try to ground myself but I still end up releasing too much and breaking my bones…”

“So it’s all or nothing, you can’t tone it down at all?” Nathan asked.

“Not really. I don’t have it refined down enough…”

Nathan sat silently for a moment, mulling over Midoriya’s description. The description was rather vague so he couldn’t figure out any concrete place to start.

“I could see it, very faintly, as you were pulling power into your arm. We’ll have to meet up sometime over the weekend and see if there’s anything else I can tell just from looking at it.”

“You could see it?!” Midoriya shouted perhaps louder than he’d intended.

“Only when you were pushing a lot of it through your arm. I couldn’t see anything on your actual throw.”

“Is it related to your electromagnetic sight? But then what does that mean for-”

Midoriya started to drone on about the possibilities Nathan’s inexplicable vision could bring. He was happy to let Midoriya speculate but he couldn’t exactly tell him that he’d learned how to do so magically.

“Midoriya.”

“Ah! Yes! Sorry! What is it?”

“What do you think about meeting up?”

“Oh right! Yeah that sounds good! Thank you so much! I’ll take any help I can get honestly.”

“Alright. Sounds good. I might poke around and see if anyone else can help too. Talk to you later Midoriya.”

“Right! See you tomorrow!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it isn't super clear, Nathan's replacing Mineta. I thought about trying to have him as well but having an uneven number of students in 1-A was going to be a huge pain later on. I've also always wanted to use the tag Mineta doesn't exist so here I am.
> 
> If you guys have any questions about the fate side of things I'm trying to stagger explanations because it's just so much. If there's anything that's unclear but you feel is critical to understanding what's going on please let me know and I can do some revisions. For now though I hope you enjoy Nathan's misadventures with his new friends!
> 
> I'm thinking about also updating on Tuesdays. I've got a huge backlog already but I suppose I should keep this pace just so I can stay ahead!
> 
> Next time! Take a step forward! On to the indoor battle trial!


	4. Take a step forward and (Triumph) (Don’t look back into the abyss)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another Friday comes and I've got another chapter for you! Hope you all enjoy it! I'm still mostly setting up but by now I hope you are starting to get to like Nathan and his unruly crew of Chaldeans!
> 
> Let's see how everyone handles the indoor battle trial!
> 
> As usual italicized dialogue is any spoken language that isn't Japanese.

Their second day was proving even more difficult in Nathan’s eyes.

It was a trial that even after a year of adjusting he still wasn’t sure he was ready for.

“Which one of these phrases is incorrect!” Present Mic shouted to the class.

It was so normal.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in an actual classroom setting. He couldn’t remember the last time he was being taught something so ordinary. He couldn’t remember…

He began fidgeting in his seat, bouncing his right leg up and down quietly. Nothing was exploding, nothing was emergently pulling him away, nothing needed his intervention. 

It was just a normal school day.

Bless Chiron he certainly tried to create that kind of environment but his lessons were unorthodox and sometimes quite brutal. Not to mention every time he tried to involve any of the child spirits things quickly deteriorated into pure madness.

Nathan raised his hand when no one else did. English was his native tongue so the third line stuck out as incorrect immediately.

“RRRRELNOR-KUN!”

 _“The third,”_ He began in English, _“Well is being used instead of will.”_

“Oh!? That’s right you’re a native English speaker aren’t you?” Present Mic said, genuinely impressed.

_“Yes sir. I was born in the UK and learned Japanese as my second language.”_

Second of around twenty languages he picked up over his time at Chaldea.

It seemed to make people more comfortable when spoken to in their native tongue so between everything that was going wrong Nathan tried his best to learn all of their languages.

In the end it had been too much for him but he still picked up quite a bit.

“Ooooh I see! Well this should be easy for you then!” Present Mic let out a laugh.

Nathan gave a quick glance around the classroom.

It seemed he wasn’t the only one struggling with the normalcy of it all.

Well. They weren’t struggling quite as hard as he was but they all seemed rather despondent.

He supposed being underwhelmed was better than being wound up so tightly that the slightest disturbance would send them through the roof.

Thankfully the class passed without incident.

\---

Lunch was up next, ample opportunity for Nathan to unwind.

After grabbing his meal he went looking for Midoriya.

An empty uniform waved at him as he scanned the room. Well. Midoriya would be available for socialization later.

 _“Hello, do you all mind if I sit here?”_ Nathan asked the table of three.

He got three confused looks before Hagakure coughed.

“Still stuck in English mode?”

Nathan scolded himself internally. After using a language heavily he sometimes forgot to stop using it until corrected by another party.

“Sorry,” He started again, this time in Japanese, “Do you mind if I sit here?”

“Not at all,” A boy with a large tail seated across from Hagakure said.

“Feel free,” Another large boy said from a mouth grown on one of his tentacles.

With a nod Nathan took the empty seat next to Hagakure.

“Hey, hey, Relnor-san, I’ve got a question for you!”

“What is it?” He turned his gaze towards her.

“Oh! You did it again! Can you see me!?”

“He did what again?” The tailed boy asked.

“He looked me in the eye! Usually people are a bit off but you’re dead on!”

Nathan tilted his head to the side.

“I can see your outline vaguely with my right. I’m guessing using that as a basis.”

It was a combination of his electromagnetic sense as well as his ability to sense life force that gave him a good impression of exactly where she was. Now if she asked him how many fingers she was holding up he doubted he’d be able to tell with pinpoint accuracy, but he had gotten fairly good at guessing such things.

He’d needed these skills to spot the various Chaldeans that hid themselves using Presence Concealment.

“Your right?”

“Yeah. The scales over my eye are connected to my optic nerves so I can vaguely see electromagnetic fields when I activate them.”

“That’s… Impressive. I’m Shoji Mezo by the way.”

“Oh, Ojiro Mashirao.”

“Nathan Relnor.”

“Wait. Is Relnor your first name!? Did I already mess up!?” Hagakure blurted out.

Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose, “No no. You’re fine. I can’t ever seem to break the habit of introducing myself the western way. Sorry.”

“Oh ok! No worries! English is your first language after all!”

“One day I’ll be done introducing myself to this class and I can stop tripping over my first interaction with everyone,” He said somewhat bitterly.

“No need to admonish yourself so harshly,” Shoji said with a chuckle, “It’s certainly memorable to say the least.”

“Hey! I’ve got another question! Your arm is made out of those scales right? What happened to your normal one?”

Ah there it was.

It was coming sooner or later. Enough people had seen that his limbs were artificial yesterday after all.

“Mh.” He mulled over his options.

Telling the truth was completely out of the question. Not only was it somewhat of a secret that needed to be kept, even if he did tell them they wouldn’t believe him. 

That scene flashed before his eyes for the briefest of moments.

He stood at the timeless temple with Mashu’s shield in his right hand.

A dying Goetia let out a terrible blast.

He shook his head. He couldn’t pause for too long. They’d start to get worried.

No. It looked like it was already a little late for that.

“I don’t really remember,” He said. “It was during a catastrophic villain attack when I was very young. The whole event is blocked out for me.”

“Ah! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to-”

“Don’t worry about it. Someone was going to ask eventually,” He said with a smile.

Collectively the table felt their hearts skip a beat at that smile.

It was overwhelming.

There was an emotion on the edge of incomprehensibility that flooded out of that smile.

It was one thing to have a happy smile that made others happier just by seeing it.

But this tugged at something even deeper than that.

“That’s where I accumulated all of this damage. Then Chaldea swooped in and saved my life.”

“Chaldea?” Hagakure asked.

“Oh. I’ve heard of them,” Ojiro said suddenly, “They’re a new reserve unit of pro heroes I think? One of their heroes saved you huh?”

Nathan nodded. If needed he could elaborate further, but for now he’d already said enough.

“That’s crazy man. Glad you made it through all of that.”

“Mh. Yeah. It took a lot of sacrifices just to see today, but it was worth it I think.”

He hoped.

His use of the word sacrifices alarmed the group but he assured them that it was a slip of the tongue. Japanese wasn’t his first language after all so it made sense if he used slightly inappropriate phrasing.

\---

“I AM HERE! COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!”

Nathan didn’t know what normal really meant anymore but he was sixty percent sure normal people didn’t scream like that when entering a room.

Not that any of the Chaldeans ever entered his room quietly, but he knew they were all crazy.

The class marveled at this All Might. He was the number one hero in the country and he certainly had the presence to back it up.

He absolutely could not tell a few of the Greek Chaldeans about this man.

“I WILL BE TEACHING FUNDAMENTAL HERO STUDIES! SO LET’S GET RIGHT INTO IT WITH THIS!”

He held out a small placard that just had the word fight in all capital letters.

“A BATTLE TRIAL!”

A certain Bakugo Katsuki practically leaped out of his seat.

That boy was far far too eager to fight.

Nathan’s reaction was the complete opposite.

Having fought with his life on the line.

Having fought with the world on the line.

He was not particularly fond of fighting.

But it was part of being a hero so it was only natural they would have to be taught how to fight.

“And to go with your first battle trial!” He continued in an almost normal tone of voice, “We’ve prepared your battle gear as per your specifications!”

Nearly the entire class joined Bakugo in excitement. The prospect of suiting up for the first time was certainly enthralling.

But again this brought Nathan to the uncomfortable realization that he’d have to change in front of others again. Hopefully Aizawa-sensei had mentioned his particular request to All-Might.

“Get changed and get ready! We’ll head to ground beta! Your battle gear is vital to who you are as heroes! And remember. From this moment on! You ARE heroes!”

The rest of the class grabbed their gear from the lockers that had popped out of the side wall. Nathan lingered for a moment before accidentally drawing All Might’s attention.

“Young Relnor, Aizawa-kun has informed me of your condition. You’re free to stay in the classroom to change if that makes you more comfortable.”

A strained gasp escaped Nathan. This was good. This was better than good.

“Thank you so much sir!” He bowed.

“We received your records from Chaldea the other day. I am sorry you’ve already had to go through so much Young man.”

Nathan tensed up slightly. What was this? It wasn’t simple sympathy.

“I am proud you’ve chosen to become a hero despite your experiences! Now then! I will see you at Ground Beta!”

Ah.

That’s what it was.

Empathy.

It made sense. The number one hero had certainly weathered his fair share of grievous injuries.

Nathan gave him one last bow before he set about changing into his battle uniform. With no one in the classroom he was safe to also install what he affectionately dubbed the Chaldean Specials.

They had intentionally designed his suit with gaps in it that he could slot “cartridges” containing mystic codes into.

Provided the suit had been built exactly to their specifications those mystic codes would become active once properly installed.

A swirling golden portal opened just above his desk, depositing three such devices as well as a visor.

He’d been prepared to go without the first time he wore his suit but… They had been told their battle gear was vital to who they were as heroes, and he would not be who he was without magecraft.

His battle gear was fairly simple. A blue skin tight suit. It left his right arm and left leg exposed and left his back open. He kept a layer of scales there to help with electromagnetic assisted movement if he was busy attacking with his limbs. The suit was otherwise lightly armored, giving him some protection from bladed weapons and projectiles.

His non artificial limbs featured heavier armor, providing even further protection without increasing weight or decreasing his flexibility too much.

That armor was the primary repository of the temporary mystic code cartridges.

It allowed him to have a small array of spells ready for him to cast at a moment’s notice.

He was not what anyone would call a skilled magus, but he knew enough to keep himself alive at least.

Lastly his helmet. Much like a certain knight of treachery, it was capable of breaking apart and folding comfortably around his neck. When the time came it would form up over his head, giving him access to his visor which was capable of giving him a lot more detailed information than he’d be able to receive from his eye alone. It also gave fast and accurate trajectory data to help him overcome his lack of depth perception in the heat of battle.

“Well. Let’s see how this one will go…” He said upon fully suiting up.

\---

Despite running so far behind he found a partner in his trip to Ground Beta.

“Ah. I like your suit Midoriya,” Nathan said with that all too genuine smile of his.

“Thank you! Yours turned out really well too! Where’s the helmet?” 

A charge fired from Nathan's right arm was detected by a sensor in his shoulder pad. So without any kind of movement that helmet that was compressed and folded around his neck quickly took shape.

“Oooooh! That’s really cool!” Midoriya almost stopped to gawk right there but… He couldn’t be late to a class taught by All Might

“I got the idea from a friend,” He said.

They emerged from the tunnel and joined the rest of the class. It really was a sight to behold seeing everyone in their hero costumes.

It all felt very familiar to Nathan.

Uraraka immediately hopped over to Deku’s side, causing the boy to fall into a stuttering mess at the sight of her.

Nathan didn’t entirely understand why, it’s not like her outfit was immodest or anything.

“Cool costume there Relnor-kun! Real nice masked hero vibe!” Hagakure called out. Her costume was… Something.

Gloves and boots…

He was suddenly very glad he could only vaguely see her outline.

“Er. Thanks Hagakure-san.” He said.

He was used to this. He was used to this. He was used to this.

“Sensei!” Iida called out. He questioned the choice of training ground before All Might elaborated on the nature of exercise.

“It will be an indoor battle trial!” He went on about how statistically more villain activity occurred indoors so it will be good practice for when they were out in the field.

For the actual test itself they would be broken up into pairs, with one playing the villain team and one playing the heroes. The villains would be charged with defending a bomb on the top floor, with victory coming by running out the clock or capturing the heroes. The heroes would have the opposite objective naturally, capture the bomb from the villains or capture the villains themselves.

“The teams will be decided by lottery!” All Might said, holding out a box.

Iida of course protested, but Midoriya reminded him that on the field random unaffiliated heroes would often have to work together.

Nathan saw it as an excuse for team building. He would often have to resort to similar measures when new heroes were summoned to Chaldea after all.

Quietly he walked up and drew a sphere from the box. He didn’t really care about what team he ended up on so he simply let his mind empty as he turned over the orb he’d drawn.

Team C.

He looked over the group and saw Yaoyorozu holding the sphere she’d drawn over her head.

“Looks like we’re partners,” He said upon walking up to her.

“Oh! Excellent. Glad to have you Relnor-san.”

“Likewise.”

“What do you think of this exam?” She asked plainly.

“He’s right about having to fight in indoor areas a lot at least,” Nathan said with a somewhat bitter edge. Granted his experiences were a little on the unusual side as he often found himself fighting mystic beasts rather than people, but when he did fight people he was usually in a confined setting. “This shouldn’t be too challenging depending on the role we receive.”

She nodded.

“I’ve been meaning to ask. Your quirk creates your scales right? Do you have to expend bodily resources to do it?”

“Yes. I’m usually quite winded after regrowing an arm or a leg and need to take in a large amount of nutrients to build my body back up to normal.”

“So it is a lot like my quirk, just a lot more singular…”

He raised his eyebrow.

Right. She had a quirk that allowed her to create things she understood the structure of didn’t she?

Where exactly were her limits?

He shook his head. No need to go down that rabbit hole yet. Instead he opted to glance around to the other parties that were forming.

Midoriya got paired with Uraraka because of course he did. That boy was going to die some day and it would be because she said something nice to him.

Bakugo was with Iida which amused him somewhat.

“What do you think?” Yaoyorozu asked, correctly guessing that he was scouting out potential opponents

“I don’t know enough about everyone else’s quirks to say one way or another. I would prefer not to fight Midoriya or Bakugo for my own reasons, but beyond that I just don’t have the information.”

She nodded. It was a decent assessment given the premise.

“I wish to avoid fighting Todoroki.”

“Who?”  
She pointed over to the boy half covered in ice.

“Ah. Any particular reason?”

“He’s the son of the number two pro hero and got in on his recommendation. His quirk is extremely powerful offensively. I don’t know if there’s much either of us could do…”

Nathan nodded along with her. Fighting another powerful ice user wasn’t exactly something he wanted to do after facing down Anastasia and Scathach-Skadi. He was also sure he probably had quite a bit of dormant trauma waiting to be dug up by facing an ice user because of those two…

“Yeah. Here’s hoping we get lucky.”

“AND THE FIRST TWO PAIRS ARE! TEAM A AS THE HERO TEAM! AND TEAM D AS THE VILLAIN TEAM!”

Nathan’s eye widened.

“Bakugo and Midoriya will be fighting then? Well I suppose that’s lucky for you since you didn’t want to fight either of them.”

No.

No, that was the exact opposite of lucky. 

Bakugo’s tension was palpable. At this point there was almost no healthy way to release it short of leveling one of these mock buildings.

And here he was about to face the source of it all in a combat trail.

Nathan swallowed hard.

“Here’s hoping he doesn’t take things too far…”

He desperately wanted to tell All Might to swap teams. He would gladly fight Midoriya or Bakugo if it meant they wouldn’t fight each other.

But the words would not come.

Was it even really his place?

Their history was so thick that even if he interrupted things here, they would only build to an even greater height later.

In the end he held his tongue. 

With that, Team D was given a five minute head start to prepare their defenses. The rest of the class sans Team A moved to the observation room.

They entered a room in which the far wall was lined with several monitors displaying the entire interior of the test building.

Nathan hung in the back of the class, eye shifting between monitors. They didn’t have an audio feed so he’d just have to settle for trying to read their lips.

Not that he needed to go that far to figure out what Bakugo was going to do.

“Now! Hero Team! Begin!” All Might called into a handheld mic.

Nathan clenched his fist. Bakugo immediately set off to take down Midoriya. The other students were watching with a mix of excitement and boredom considering the fighting hadn’t started yet.

It didn’t take long though.

After infiltrating from a window a story up Midoriya and Uraraka were immediately ambushed.

Thankfully Midoriya managed to dodge out of the way.

“Wah! An ambush!? That’s so unmanly!” A boy with spiky red hair called out.

“But Midoriya dodged it really well!” A pink skinned girl said excitedly.

Anything went in a battle, so it was only natural that they should expect ambushes. But this wasn’t an ambush in a traditional sense.

Attempted homicide is a little closer to how he would describe it.

Bakugo had immediately gone for a blow to the head.

When Bakguo charged again he was met head on and pulled into a counter throw.

Nathan recognized the movement immediately.

For the first time since the trial had started he smiled. Yan Qing would be happy to hear that his lessons had paid off in such a big way.

The rest of the class erupted as the fight went on.

“Woah! He’s going toe to toe with the kid who got second on the entrance exams!”

“He’s not even using his quirk!”

“What do you think Nathan?”

He turned to his left to see Yaoyorozu next to him. She gave him a sideways glance before returning her attention to the monitor.

Midoriya and Uraraka split, using the confusion to get away from the raging Bakugo.

The sheer amount of malice Bakugo held tinted the air around him to Nathan’s eye.

“Midoriya needs a plan or Bakugo’s going to kill him when he catches him.”

“Surely he wouldn’t take it that far for a simple test?”

“This isn’t just a simple test to them. They’ve got history.”

“Oh? I know they’re from the same school, but it can’t be that bad can it?”

Nathan could not risk taking his eyes off the monitor. Uraraka had made it up to the top with Iida but a slip up had alerted him to her presence. She and Midoriya were probably communicating with each other, but in this situation Midoriya didn’t have the time to be distracted by his teammate.

Nathan’s left hand clenched into a fist.

Bakugo rounded the corner, spotting Midoriya at the end of the hallway.

He seemed to be on the feather edge of madness.

Nathan watched as the boy primed his grenade shaped gauntlet.

No. He wasn’t just on the edge. He was getting ready to dive off of it.

“Stop.” Nathan said shakily. That weak voice turned into a shout as he gleaned Bakugo’s words, “Make him stop!”

All Might did not hesitate to call out to the boy.

But Bakugo had no intention of stopping.

He pulled the trigger and Nathan watched as yet another of his friends died right in front of him.

He should have stepped up. Why didn’t he step up? Why didn’t he say anything? 

This was just like-

This was just like-

This was just like-

He watched helplessly from a boat as an island hosting an innocent village and a dear friend was wiped off the face of the earth via orbital bombardment.

He watched Sansons neck snap as he was hung from the gallows.

“Nathan!”

He watched as friend after friend were swallowed up and corrupted by the Chaos Tide. 

He watched Romani Ackerman fade into dust.

“Holy shit Midoriya survived that!”

He ripped himself from his mind to find several concerned stares directed his way.

The sound of sparks registered along with his own haggard breathing.

He looked to his left.

Yaoyorozu was right next to him, holding his left hand in both of hers with a panicked expression on her face.

“I-” He gasped out as he reigned in his breathing.

He could still hear his heart pounding at a thousand miles an hour, but he could suppress the outward symptoms of his flashback.

“Are you ok?”

“Is Midoriya-”

“Bakugo aimed off slightly, Midoriya’s singed but alright.”

He looked to the monitor to confirm her assessment. His vision was a little hazy but it seemed that Midoriya was indeed still alive.

A breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding escaped him.

Finally he stood up straight.

“I… I’m sorry about that, thank you… I just- That brought back memories.”

Yaoyorozu let go of his hand but did not drop her worried stare. 

Thankfully All Might intervened and prevented Bakugo from using that attack again with the threat of failing the exam.

Nathan was too scattered to property pay attention to the rest of the fight.

Thankfully even though he’d only been there a day and a half he had somehow made friends who would support him.

“You alright man?” Kaminari asked. He gave Nathan a comforting pat on the back.

“Yeah. I’m. Managing.” He said carefully. “This is just…” He watched as Bakugo moved past Midoriya’s counter and attacked with enough force to knock the wind out of Midoriya.

“That kid’s out of his damn mind that’s for sure. The hell is his deal?”

“A superiority complex I’d wager,” Nathan said, doing his best to focus on the situation in front of him rather than his own turmoil.

He could compartmentalize it and deal with it later.

He’d had to do so many many times after all. One more wouldn’t hurt him.

It was clear to everyone, in fact many of his fellow students were commenting on it, that Bakugo had an extremely potent battle sense. He was completely dominating a fight against an opponent familiar with his tactics through sheer skill alone.

But.

Midoriya scampered away and backed against the far wall.

If this did not stop soon it would end with one or both of them broken.

Midoriya had pure unrestrained power.

Nathan doubted he’d unleash it at Bakugo even when being prodded so violently.

But…

“This has to stop.” Nathan said numbly.

It was coming to a head.

They reared back for their final clash.

Midoriya turned his punch upward at the last second and took Bakugo’s fierce explosion.

In a truly spectacular show of power Midoriya blew a hole all the way up the building giving Uraraka the debris and opportunity to bypass Iida’s thus far impeccable defense and claim victory at the last second.

But it was a victory in name only.

As the debris settled it became clear just how little Bakugo had restrained that explosion.

Midoriya’s left arm was horribly burned and his right had been destroyed by his quirk.

It was like looking in a mirror.

How many times had Nathan come out of a fight looking like that?

How many times had he made people worry about him as much as he worried about Midoriya?

He clenched at his heart with his left hand.

“Hero team… WIIIIIIIIIINS!!!!”

With that All Might exited the observation room to go oversee the students returning from the exam building.

Nathan let out several stabilizing breaths. Watching that fight had pressed quite a few buttons he hadn’t entirely realized still got reactions out of him. Not to mention the new feeling of watching someone else…

“Are you ok Relnor-san?”

Yaoyorozu Momo gave him another concerned look, she’d been by his side since the explosion but she’d refocused on the match when he leveled out.

“I’ll be fine. Just… Some old aches and pains get brought up whenever I see that kind of destruction…”

“Will you be ok for your trial man? You could be next.” Kaminari asked upon approaching the two.

“Yes. Once I’m in the thick of battle I’ll be fine,” He said with a forced smile. With battle came familiarity. This wasn’t going to be the most dire battle he’d ever fought, but as long as he was in a battle with an objective he could hold himself together. 

“I can’t believe that guy. What’s his deal?” A large student in a full yellow suit approached the three.

“I’m not entirely sure. Him and Midoriya have a history though. I don’t know much about their dynamic other than that it’s obviously a bad one.” Nathan said carefully. He didn’t want to speak too much on something that Midoriya should be answering himself, but he also didn’t want Midoriya to get bombarded with questions about it when he recovered.

He would sate their curiosity without giving too much away to protect him. If they wanted to go further they would probably only have the urge to later.

“Oh! I’m Sato Rikido by the way, Nice to meet you all,”

The group introduced themselves to him, Nathan having to again be reminded to put his name in the right order. Nobody seemed to hold it against him though.

It was around then that All Might returned with the three healthy students.

Midoriya had obviously needed to be carted to Recovery Girl immediately.

They then evaluated their performance as a class. Or rather, Yaoyorozu evaluated them better than All Might had been expecting.

Bakugo for the most part seemed nearly catatonic.

Uraraka and Iida slid up next to Nathan while giving occasional glances to the boy.

“So you’ve known Midoriya for a bit right?” Uraraka asked.

“About a month.”

“Any idea what that was about?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know enough to say one way or another, I’d never even been properly introduced to Bakguo. You’ll have to ask Midoriya.”

Uraraka and Iida were already quickly establishing themselves as good friends to Midoriya so instead of deflecting them he decided to funnel them towards Midoriya. While having people who hadn’t even properly introduced themselves to him prod him about a deeply traumatic interpersonal relationship was a bad idea, opening up about it to friends was fairly rewarding.

It was step one anyway.

“Next round! Hero Team B verses Villain Team I!”

Nathan glanced out to the class and watched as the Ice boy and Shoji left alongside Ojiro and Hagakure.

At least Yaoyorozu got her wish of not having to fight him.

The first round had been viscerally brutal simply from Bakguo’s behavior alone.

This one wasn’t even fair.

As soon as Shoji scouted the building for him Todoroki froze the entire thing, trapping his opponents legs in ice and simply walking up to the bomb.

It was over in less than two minutes.

Briefly Nathan let his mind wander to the two frozen empires he’d toppled. He wondered if Anastasia or Scathach-Skadi would like to meet this boy.

Anastasia was probably not a great idea considering that the one he’d summoned was a prank gremlin who spent an inordinate amount of time not even allowing him to be in the same room as her.

“Round three! Villain Team C verses Hero Team H!”

“Oh! Good luck Relnor-san!” Uraraka said, sending him off with a happy wave.

Nathan and Yaoyorozu arrived at the building and were given their five minute head start.

“What do you know about their quirks?” Nathan asked.

“Not much unfortunately, Asui Tsuyu seems fairly straight forward. Frog physiology probably gives her excellent climbing and aquatic abilities as well as her long tongue,” Yaoyorozu listed off as they reached the third floor.

“And Tokoyami’s?”

“He manifests a shadow that can attack from range I believe.”

“Wait. Stop here. Can you make a couple of stun grenades and a sheet that matches the shadows up there. Oh and something that will let me fasten it to the ceiling.”

“Oh. Sure!” She opened her already revealing uniform somewhat in order to allow room for the requested objects to pass without incident. There were pipes running all along the ceiling through most of the floors but this stairway opened up to a relatively large room and had a small alcove that wouldn’t be immediately obvious. Nathan pulled himself up magnetically and hung up the sheet, placing one stun grenade where he intended to wait and attaching the other to his belt. 

“I’m probably going to camp here and head them off.” Nathan said once he returned to the ground. “It’s close enough that if they climb the side of the building I’ll be able to make it back to you as soon as I detect them but far enough that I won’t be waiting too long if they just take the door.”

“I see,” She said with a nod.

They continued on their journey reaching the bomb room with a couple of minutes to spare.

“Hm. I think I can barricade this door.”

“Sounds good. You should probably go ahead and prep a stun grenade or two for yourself honestly.”

“Of course. Do you think Tokoyami’s quirk can be defeated with light?”

“Most shadows can be but if it doesn’t serve that purpose it will still blind him. All I need to do is get the drop on them. I don’t know how strong either of their quirks are so assume they’ll come through the wall if they can’t manage the door. Failing that they could just come up through the floor. If you hear any rumbling or a loud noise go ahead and throw a grenade preemptively. They’ll have their eyes open to get a feel of the room they’re entering so if you get it off early enough you’ll blind them before they can even get their bearings.”

Yaoyorozu gave him an off look. His tactics were sound, sure, but something about the line he followed to reach his conclusions was a bit off.

“One more thing before I leave.” Nathan let his right hand split open slightly. A staticy sound filled the air, “Do you want me to cut the tops of these pillars?” he gestured at the two support pillars closest to the door.

Another odd look met him.

If he cut them she would be able to topple them easily with charges placed at their base. But would such a thing even be necessary?

“I think we should avoid too much structural damage, especially considering what we’re supposed to be protecting.”

“Very well.” His hand slowly snapped itself back into its normal configuration before he used it to give her a wave, “I’m off then. Good hunting.”

He made his way to the third floor. He probably has less than a minute of prep time left. So he simply pulled himself up to his secret alcove and waited. There were any number of ways this could backfire but he simply had to hope for the best while expecting the worst. With the last of his time he adjusted his breathing, smoothing his presence out as best as he could. It was a far cry from true Presence Concealment, but it would be effective enough.

And so he waited.

Thankfully it did not take long.

Tsuyu had taken to the pipes like he had but she had chosen to the pipe adjacent to the one he was perched on as her main thoroughfare. Thus she simply crawled right past him. Tokoyami was right under her, with an extra pair of shadow arms extending from his back ready to attack at a moment’s notice.

“They’re probably heavily fortified in the bomb room kero. That seems to be what most everyone is doing…”

“Yaoyorozu’s quirk would lend itself to that quite well. How should we attack it then?”

“Kero…”

Slowly, smoothly, carefully, Nathan reached his right hand under the sheet and onto the pipe Tsuyu clung to.

Against normal humans he had to keep careful control of his amperage. Volts were dangerous sure but amperage was where you really killed a person with electricity.

He had structured his arm in such a way that if he ran electricity through deactivated scales it would offer greater resistance, allowing him to force his amps down by how much resistance he used. He only activated about ten percent of his scales here but even that amount was significant when fighting a person.

He sent a charge through the metal pipe eliciting a sharp yelp from Tsuyu as her muscles seized up.

“Tsuyu-san!?” Tokoyami only barely managed to catch her in time. Nathan had allowed them to get to the middle of the room so the source of the attack wasn’t immediately obvious.

Especially since he was still in his hiding place.

“Damnit! It’s Relnor-san! Where is he!?”

With his eyes wide open and scanning the area, Nathan tossed his stun grenade before raking his hand against the pipe he was on. 

His attention was drawn to the noise.

But it was already too late to react.

Tokoyami screamed as his vision was blown away.

He had no hands to shield his eyes with since he had not been allowed the time to put Tsuyu down. It was a coldly calculated attack. With five seconds of true blindness on the clock Nathan dropped from his hiding place and immediately rushed the two.

The one thing about this exam that presented a huge problem for him was the capture tape. He simply could not get a good grip on it with his right hand. He was therefore forced to use a more blunt approach. The distance between them disappeared in a second. Nathan weaved behind Tokoyami and placed his right hand on his back.

It was not a strong charge but it was enough to force Tokoyami’s muscles to lock up.

With his opponents blinded and stunned he pulled the capture tape from his side pocket, hooking one end to Tokoyami’s collar and quickly wrapping the two with two layers. 

The entire encounter had only lasted a handful of seconds.

They were met with a siren blare that signaled the end of the trial.

\---

Upon returning to the evaluation room they were met with a barrage of questions.

“We were screaming Tsuyu! He was right next to you on those pipes! You passed right by him!”

“Kero? He was?”

“I was.” Nathan said with a nod. “I wanted to be behind you so you wouldn’t have anywhere to retreat to.”

“I guess I was just so focused on looking at the ground that I missed you,” She said holding a finger to her chin.

“I had a sheet that matched the shadows that I was hiding under on top of the fact that I was using a breathing technique to make myself completely silent.”

The red haired boy that he’d learned was named Kirishima folded his arms and let out a huff.

“Ambushes like that aren’t very manly but-”

“Can’t argue with the results,” Shoji interrupted.

All Might coughed, “Yes, It was excellent teamwork all around but the Villain team was simply two steps ahead!”

With that the remaining exams passed without much note.

Nathan did notice that Bakugo seemed to be withdrawing further and further into himself. Something core to his sense of self had obviously been shaken in his trail.

He wanted to talk to him about it, but he got the feeling that if he approached now he would just get rejected out of hand.

“Good work everyone! Apart from Midoriya there were no severe injuries! Yet none of you held anything back!”

All Might gave another quick congratulation before dashing out of sight. Nathan wondered what that was about but followed the rest of the class as they made their way back to campus proper.

“Hey.”

Nathan glanced back and saw Todoroki approach him from the right.

“Hello. Relnor Nathan,” He said with a nod.

“Todoroki Shoto. I have a question.”

“Yes?”

“You were holding back too, weren’t you?”

Nathan turned to look at the boy. What was he looking for with that kind of question? A friend? A rival? Something else?

“Yes. Using my quirk unrestrained on other humans is fairly dangerous. I’d imagine you have a similar problem.”

There was no need to mention the skill set he’d learned from _the other side of the world_. 

Todoroki for his part just gave Nathan a blank stare before nodding to himself.

“Yeah…”

And then he just walked away. It was odd but Nathan was familiar with people who were even worse conversation partners than that.

He was clearly carrying something heavy. It was uncommon for someone their age to become so closed without a reason but prying after only just introducing themselves seemed like a bad idea.

Such tactics worked with Heroic Spirits because as a general rule they just wanted someone to talk to them and understand them without judging. But on human beings? Their story wasn’t over yet so they were a lot more difficult to deal with for Nathan.

He made his way to the classroom and quickly changed back into his uniform before anyone else could get back from the dressing rooms. 

A crowd quickly formed around him.

The section of the class that had yet to properly introduce themselves to him finally got around to it, bringing his introduction mishaps to a close once and for all.

The rest of the day proceeded somewhat normally. Ordinary classes about ordinary things. Nathan didn’t really know how to process it.

If a day started out rough for him there was a 90% chance it wasn’t going to stop until he saved something. But. To start off with a battle trial and then be expected to be able to focus on anything else?

It took more out of him to keep his mind on these ordinary lessons than it had taking down two of his fellow students in active combat. 

By the end of the day he needed a nap.

“You look exhausted,” Jiro said, casually standing next to his desk.

“Yeah. I guess I’m just not used to starting and stopping like that,” He said with a light chuckle, “At home it’s usually go go go go, and then a week later I’ll be able to rest.”

“What kind of home life do you live?”

“A hectic one.”

He was hesitant to acknowledge that he lived at Chaldea. He hadn’t even told Midoriya yet, though he assumed he’d figured it out by now. He knew that would bring questions he couldn’t answer. UA knew but the pro heroes had the tact not to prod for more information than that secretive organization was willing to give.

Tokoyami took a seat on his desk and gave Nathan a thumbs up.

“Well done today,” He said, “I’m a little disappointed I didn’t get to go all out against you but it was a very well executed assassination.”

“Thanks. When you don’t know how strong your opponent is the best bet is to assume they’re stronger than you and work to defeat them without allowing them a single move,” Nathan said in an all too casual tone.

“Says the guy with the overpowered electricity quirk,” Jiro said, giving Nathan a light nudge.

“It is only the way it is today through endless hours of effort and a lot of help from friends,” He said, smiling his strangely overwhelming smile. Yes. He wouldn’t be here without all the support Chaldea gave him.

Nobody would be anywhere without Chaldea he considered loosely.

It was then that Midoriya entered the room, drawing attention from about a third of the class.

His arm was in a sling and he was still heavily bandaged.

So even Recovery Girl had her limits.

It made sense, Midoriya had said that her healing drained his own stamina.

If an injury was too great and too much of his stamina was drained…

Maybe he had something in the Gate that could give him a little extra life force to work with.

He’d worry about that later.

He watched as Uraraka and Kaminari returned, Uraraka informing Midoriya of Bakguo’s status.

This caused him to bolt from the class in an effort to find Bakugo.

“I can’t say I understand their dynamic,” Nathan muttered largely to himself, “But I can’t imagine it’s an easy one to manage.”

“Hopefully they won’t ever have to fight again,” Yaoyorozu said, “That was just… There was nothing about learning how to be a hero there…”

“Maybe,” Nathan said simply. If there was one thing he’d learned over his years at Chaldea it was that the path to being a hero was highly individualized. Someone could be a complete monster until that one key moment where they needed to sacrifice something for the greater good. He’d made friends with many of history’s greatest villains and they had all agreed to help him fight for the future for their own reasons.

Often times he made friends with people who had just finished trying to murder him.

It was a habit the human staff of Chaldea had found more and more alarming before being dismissed after surmounting the Lostbelts.

But that was enough ruminating over things in public, Nathan gathered his stuff and made for the door himself.

He wondered who would be at the front gate to pick him up today.

“Hey hey! You going to the station? Mind if I tag along?” Hagakure asked as she ran up next to him.

“No. I usually get picked up right at the front here.”

“Oh? Fancy! Who picks you up? Your parents? Siblings?”

“Uh. Not exactly!” He said with a chuckle.

A photo of a family _he couldn’t recognize anymore_ flashed in his memory.

“Huh? What does that mean?”  
“I live at a hero organization so they usually send one of their staff members to pick me up,” He clarified quickly.

When they passed the gate he saw his ride for the day.

Elegant and graceful.

The very essence of royalty.

She rode atop a white steed, clad in full plate armor.

She wasn’t wearing her helmet, allowing the world to bask in her holy radiance.

 _“Oh hey Arturia.”_ He said, completely ignoring the awed stares of every student in the area.

 _“Good evening Relnor. I am here to pick you up from school.”_ She spoke smoothly with a voice that seemed to carry for miles. That was just the level of authority she wielded with her presence alone.

_“Alright. We should probably stop by the grocery store on the way, I ran out of those crackers I really like last night.”_

_“Have you been stressed lately?”_

_“A little.”_ He said upon taking his place behind Arturia.

“Woah woah wait!” Hagakure called out. “C-Can I- Can I pet the horse?”

Arturia affixed her with a look that she couldn’t fully process. There was too big of a gap between them. Hagakure could barely even read that woman’s expression, much less tell what her stare here meant.

“I do not see any problem with it. Do be quick, I need to get Relnor back before the others get too unruly.”

“Ok! Thank you so much!” Invisible hands stroked the horse’s mane for a moment before Hagakure backed away, “It’s so pretty! Do you live on a farm or something Nathan?”

“Something like that. I’ll see you tomorrow Hagakure!”

“Yeah! See ya!”

And with that the King of Camelot and Nathan rode off.

 _“I’m sure you’ve heard this sentiment before but it is quite heartwarming to see you making friend Master,”_ She said as they made their way to a nearby convenience store.

_“Hah, thanks Arturia. I’m just trying my best. It was rough today, normal lessons are so difficult for me to focus on.”_

_“I can imagine your frustrations Master. But this is the world you saved. It would be negligent for you to not at least take part in it.”_

_“I suppose,”_ Nathan said with a half hearted sigh, _“You’d think it’d be easier after a year of adjustment.”_

 _“Perhaps… But experiences like yours cannot be dulled by time alone,”_ She said thoughtfully.

He remembered the indoor battle trial.

She was right.

He’d restored his ability to communicate and had managed to break most of his more alarming habits. But now he had to start directly facing his trauma as it emerged. Who knew saving the world left such lasting scars on a person.

_“We’ve arrived at the store Master. Shall we acquire your snacks?”_

_“Yeah!”_

\---

Sherlock Holmes stared at the three screens of light hovering around him. 

They listed reports on Chaldea’s activities for the day. If they dispatched Heroic Spirits, where they went, and how they were evaluated by the pro heroes they aided.

It was all operating fairly smoothly.

If he could just stop some of the more overzealous Servants from accidentally killing their targets by fighting too hard everything would be perfect.

An incoming call interrupted his thoughts.

“Hm. Oh hello Principle Nezu. I hope everything is going ok with our dear Relnor.”

“Oh. Yes of course! Just a few concerns is all!”

“And what would they be?”

“He had quite the reaction to an exercise today. I was just wondering if there was anything we could do to accommodate him.”

“Ah I was afraid this would happen sooner or later. Day two is a bit worse than I was expecting but here we are. I cannot disclose the details of exactly why he is the way he is but suffice to say any battle setting is likely to set him off to some degree.”

“That will be problematic to avoid completely.”

“I don’t think we should. It’s time for him to face his history and overcome it. He knows coping techniques and if things get too out of hand I’m confident your staff will be capable enough to sort things out.”

Nezu was silent on the other end of the line for a moment.

“You’re playing a dangerous game with that child…”

“Yes. But it is no where near the worst thing I’ve ever done to him… I do wish the best for him. I love him as any parental figure would. But now it’s time for him to finally walk on his own rather than simply being dragged forward. I know your capable institution will be there to catch him should he stumble from his first tentative steps.”

Nezu didn’t like it. He’d had many dealings with this man over the last few months, but the way he operated was something even he couldn’t stomach. The ends justified the means as long as the world was safe. To that he circumvented numerous laws in order to establish Chaldea as an organization with little to no oversight. Nobody was complaining because their results were outstanding, but the very nature of their arrival was insidious.

Nezu knew vaguely that Chaldea had popped up when they had for a reason. Sherlock Holmes would not elaborate, and none of their actions called anything into question, but their very arrival indicated that a massive storm was brewing.

He just hoped that Chaldea would save as many people as they could.

“I do have one last thing concerning young Relnor. You’ve listed his Age as 16.”

“That is true.”

“Do you not see a problem with his listed birthday and his current age? Should he not be three years younger? This is not a matter of simply counting the Lost Year...”

Sherlock paused for a moment.

The Lost Year.

That was how the outside saw the Human Incineration event that had wiped mankind’s history from the world.

Chaldea had spent a whole year resolving that incident, and so once human history was restored the world woke to find it had somehow missed an entire year.

There had been a lot of chaos around that missing year and the explanation for it but the world eventually gave up looking for an answer with only the most dedicated still trying to unravel the mystery.

As for the other two unaccounted years…

Through an endless amount of effort they had managed to avoid another massive time loss for humanity as a whole.

But that simply meant that no one even realized there was a time where humanity was annihilated by that vengeful god.

“I’m sure you know that Chaldea is not a normal organization by any stretch of the word. Suffice it to say there have been incidents like the Lost Year that we have experienced slightly differently than the rest of the world.”

It was not an outright admission of anything.

But what Sherlock was saying confirmed some of Nezu’s questions.

“Why are you here now then?” Nezu asked.

“I’m sure you’ve already put two and two together. I wouldn’t respect you as a rival otherwise. If you need verbal admission to it I’m happy to be of assistance,” Sherlock said with a jovial chuckle, “We detected an element in hero society that was not from your side of the world and were forced to rise to the surface in order to properly investigate. How and why that element surfaced is the mystery Chaldea has appeared to solve. Everything else is our leader’s will to help others.”

Nezu remained silent.

That was not a comforting answer.

Nevertheless.

“If there is anything you require from our side please feel free to ask. Chaldea has done much for us in the months since your arrival, it would be a shame if we could not repay you further.”

“Of course. Thank you for your offer my friend!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have started knitting together two very very different universes with all the subtlety and grace of a chainsaw. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! And finally getting a plot hook like 20000 words in... Sorry about that. This one's gonna be a slow burn for sure.
> 
> Nathan's so full of Trauma from having to go through all of FGO... Hopefully UA can help him out a little bit in that regard.
> 
> Well then! Till next time to see who wins the coveted title of class president!


	5. Isn’t this (Normal?) (Inevitable?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays everyone! I come bringing a new chapter! A little shorter than usual I know but the following scene ended up being quite long so...
> 
> Anyway! Student council elections and creeping close to the edge of something sinister! I hope you all enjoy!
> 
> As usual italicized dialogue is a language that isn't Japanese

_ “Hm. That's a whole lot of mess…” _ Nathan said peering over the edge of the Mesektet.

_ “They merely scramble around for scraps. What do you wish to do Master? Shall I scare them away before we land?” _

Nathan gave the man a look.

The Great Pharaoh Ozymandias simply looked back at him.

A crowd of reporters was swarming UA’s gate, questioning anyone that approached them. Nathan wasn’t entirely sure what it was about but he was fairly sure firing a destructive beam of light near them would not help matters at all.

_ “No. We’ll just touch down out of line of sight and I can walk the rest of the way.” _

_ “What!? But what of your procession!? How are they to know your greatness if you do not descend from the heavens atop my great Mesektet!?” _

_ “I do not want a procession Ozzy. I just want to get to class.” _

Ozymandias let out a loud whining noise, folding his arms and looking away.

_ “I’ll bump you back up to the top of the line next week and if there are less reporters swarming the place we can do the thing then, is that ok?” _

_ “Oh!? So I’ll get two deliveries to the one Gilgamesh has? Interesting. The Sun accepts this deal. Now then, where exactly did you want to land?” _

Nathan had no idea exactly when giving him a ride to school had become so valuable that even the golden kings were entranced but he was glad he had something to offer them. As long as it kept them somewhat under control Nathan wasn’t going to question it too hard.

They touched down with little fanfare a bit away from UA’s campus.

_ “Alright I’ll see you later Ozzy!” _ Nathan said as he dismounted the boat of the sun.

_ “MAY GREATNESS FOLLOW IN YOUR WAKE!” _ Ozymandias shouted before taking off.

“You always have the most interesting rides…” 

Nathan turned to see Ashido Mina staring at him.

“Ah. Well that is how it is sometimes,” Nathan said with a chuckle.

“What language even was that?”

“Egytian.”

“Second question, where are you finding all of these people!?”

“They work where I live,”

“That’s vague and unhelpful.”

“Sorry,” He said as they made their way towards UA’s gate, “I live at a hero organization and they’ve all grown rather attached to me. It’s become a competition of who can give the best ride to school now and I can’t decide if I should stop it before it spirals out of control or take advantage of it.”

“Oh… That’s a tough call! I guess keep it up while the getting is good?”

“If it didn’t involve a lot of arguing in the morning this whole thing would be hilarious but I fear for my future...”

“EXCUSE ME YOU KIDS! WHAT KIND OF LESSONS DOES ALL MIGHT TEACH!?”

They approached the swarm and it acknowledged their presence by descending upon them.

Nathan saw no need to bother with them. He pushed his way forward. They were an imposing crowd but it was very likely that none of them were willing to actively impede him from going to class for fear of repercussions.

“Please! Anything you could tell us would be appreciated!” 

Don’t say a word. If they couldn’t get anything out of him they would leave him alone. He didn’t care if this damaged his image later he just wanted to get to class.

He crossed the threshold of UA with Mina on his heels.

“Woah! That’s crazy! I guess it makes sense! But still!”

She was looking back at the mass of reporters that had moved on to harassing Aizawa causing her to miss the fact that Nathan had stopped dead in his tracks.

She ran into his back but it might as well have been a solid wall. 

“Ah sorry! Er-”

He was frozen solid, locked onto something at the gate.

“Relnor-san? Y-you ok buddy?”

Once the gate slammed shut behind Aizawa Nathan relaxed slightly.

“Is there something wrong Relnor?” Aizawa asked as he approached them.

“No. I just thought I saw something…”

It had been distant but it was unmistakable.

He’d been exposed to it far too often for him to miss it’s presence even if it was mixed in with such a large crowd.

Murderous intent.

He shook his head. UA clearly had defensive structures in place so it would probably be fine.

He hoped at least.

\---

“Hope you’re rested from the battle trial. I went over your marks last night. Bakugo, stop acting like a seven year old, you’re wasting your talent.”

A deep grumble escaped the boy.

Something had changed about him from Nathan’s perspective.

His tension had dropped significantly, even being reminded of his failings yesterday he was nowhere near as tightly wound as he was before.

A good night’s rest might have helped a little, but not this much. Nathan’s eye wandered to Midoriya who had just finished receiving his own criticism from Aizawa.

He had rushed after Bakugo yesterday. Had they managed to work something out?

No. Or rather. Only barely.

“I’m sorry to spring this on you so suddenly…” Aizawa started, prompting half the class to pale visibly, “But we need to pick class reps.”

The dread that had overtaken the room immediately evaporated into cheers of excitement. Everyone clamored to be picked as class president. He understood it could look good on a resume but…

He had enough on his plate managing Chaldea.

He did not want any more responsibilities than he absolutely needed.

It was Iida who overcame that cacophony of voices. He suggested a vote be held despite the fact that they’d only known each other for a few days.

It made sense to Nathan. There had not been a lot of time for biases to form. If someone got multiple votes it was because they’d reached the hearts of others in only a few days.

Aizawa approved the measure and they quickly got to voting.

Almost everyone voted for themselves.

The board stood at a tie.

Midoriya had three votes.

Yaoyorozu Momo had three votes.

Nathan felt a little bad for Iida, he had no votes at all because his had probably gone to Midoriya.

Maybe he should have voted for him instead of Yaoyorozu.

“So how do we decide who gets president and who gets vice president?” Kirishima asked, looking at the two nominees that now stood at the head of the class.

One was the prim and proper Yaoyorozu Momo.

The other was trembling so much there was a chance he’d register on a seismometer.

“Rock paper scissors?” Nathan blurted out.

It was his usual go to for solving things in Chaldea. That or just arbitrarily picking a side.

“That sounds just as reasonable as everything else,” Yaoyorozu said, “Are you ready Midoriya-san?”

“Y-y-yes!” 

Yaoyorozu threw scissors.

Midoriya had been physically incapable of unclenching his hand and therefore threw rock.

Nathan just laughed as Midoriya was pronounced Class president. Yaoyorozu looked at her own hands like they’d betrayed her as she stood there.

“It’s settled then, Midoriya Izuku is class president and Yaoyorozu Momo is Vice president.”

\---

“You don’t mind if I sit here do you?” Nathan asked the group of Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, Jiro, and Sero.

“Nah go ahead man,” Sero said with a smile. Nathan obliged, taking the spot next to him and across from Yaoyorozu.

“I’m surprised though,” She said absentmindedly, “That you didn’t get any votes Relnor-san.”

“Yeah, I figured you’d at least vote for yourself!” Kaminari added.

“I didn’t want the position. It’s just not my kind of thing. I’m more of a support role, so if you need anything Yaoyorozu-san, feel free to ask me.”

He had been leading Chaldea for the last five years. He did not need more of that.

Not that he imagined being class rep would be terrible, he simply wished to focus on his own matters first.

“Makes sense I guess. Figured you might have secretly wanted it really bad like Iida,” Jiro said between bites.

“Was there really anything secret about that?”

“Oh! He can tell jokes!” Kaminari called out with a laugh.

“From time to time I am known to be quite sarcastic.”

It was almost 100% Edmond’s fault he’d developed his sense of dry wit. The other part was just hanging around the more creative heroic spirits too long.

A boy with blue hair popped into his mind.

Yaoyorozu simply offered him a smile.

“I’m glad to have your support Relnor-san. I will do my best to earn it.”

“Haven’t you already?”

Nathan’s smile struck her straight in the heart. What was it about the emotion that that boy expressed when he smiled. Smothering and overwhelmingly warm.

“You were an excellent partner for yesterday’s trial. I really couldn’t have asked for better equipment. You also already had a grasp on our opponents making my job even easier. You could have won with anyone on your team, I was just lucky enough to be the guy that got carried.”

Sero tilted his head to the side.

“Dude don’t sell yourself so short. That takedown was straight out of an action movie! I blinked and missed half of it!”

“It’s really nothing. I’m just familiar with that style of fighting and fell back to it. Besides, there’s not much people can do when you have a right hand that functions as a taser.”

“I do have a question about your hand Relnor-san. How much motion do you have in it?”

He held it out to Yaoyorozu and clenched it into a fist.

“That’s it.”

“Wait what?” Jiro said. Her attention had drifted but now it was locked back onto him.

He opened his hand and then closed it again.

“It’s like… I had to make some sacrifices to get full range of movement out of my wrist and my elbow. If I’d been forced to make a shoulder too I don’t know how well it would have turned out. I guess it can split open for my Railgun and the Arc Cutter too.”

It was Kaminari’s turn to gawk, “An arc cutter!? Like arc welding?”

“Yeah. I figured out how to structure my scales to extend it out into a blade.”

“Dude what the fuck.” Sero muttered.

“Advantages and disadvantages.” Nathan said with a shrug. “Legs just about as bad, but I’ve got a lot of options that don’t involve running a lot for moving fast. At least I got the ankle most of the range of motion it needs.”

Yaoyorozu’s mind was reeling.

What could have forced him to rely on such things? The amount of trial and error had to have been staggering. The amount of practice to use those quirk made limbs as fluidly as Nathan could must have been astronomical. The fact that she’d only noticed after working closely with him for the battle trial was a testament to that.

She watched as he reached for his drink only to knock it over. Thankfully it was bottled water so it didn’t spill everywhere but… Was he just clumsy?

“What about you Kaminari?” Nathan turned to his electricity brother, completely ignoring his own blunder.

“Huh? Oh! Uh. My quirk just kind of lets me cover my body in electricity? I can discharge it too but it’s kind of hard to aim. I definitely don’t have the same kind of control as you do but I can absorb other electricity quirks directed at me.”

“Really? I can only deflect electricity. Even my own electricity can hurt me if I’m not careful, and naturally I have to be aware of attacks to deflect them so...”

“Oh? I’ve got that up on ya then!” Kaminari said triumphantly, “But man. I kind of wish I had your level of control. Yours is primarily discharged too right? How the hell are you doing all of that electromagnetic stuff!?”

“It’s a lot of practice and angling my scales a specific way internally to produce the results I want.”

“Damn. Sounds like I’ve got my work cut out for me. How long did it take you to learn?”  
“A couple of years.”

Sero just gawked at Nathan. Where had that boy gotten so much practice? Why had he gotten so much practice in applying his quirk to a fight. Replacing his limbs he could understand. But learning how to fight with those limbs? Why had that been necessary?

“Oh. I’ve been meaning to ask something for a bit, that glove. You ever take it off?” Jiro asked, gesturing at his left hand.

“I try not to. I’ve got some fairly horrific scarring on this hand so I keep it covered to keep from getting too many stares,” He said approximately truthfully.

It was also there to hide his Command Seals. As the Master of Chaldea he was entrusted with powerful spells capable of giving him absolute command over Heroic spirits. The seals represented the number of those spells he had left at any given time.

Command Seals were not unique to him, anyone with a summoned Heroic Spirit had them. As such they were recognizable if you knew what you were looking at. 

Sero finally recovered from being knocked so far off balance. He opened his mouth to ask another question but it was drowned out by a loud siren which sent Nathan bolting up right out of his seat.

“Security Level 3 has been breached. Students please evacuate outside, repeat-”

Silence followed.

But only for a moment.

The entire cafeteria erupted in panic.

“Wh-What the hell’s going on?” Sero called out.

“Security level 3 would mean someone is trespassing on school grounds!” Yaoyorozu shouted over the panicked screaming of the other students.

“Well let’s get the hell out of here!”

“W-wait where’s?”

The four of them turned towards where Nathan had been standing, but the boy was nowhere to be found.

“He’s probably on his way out! Let’s go!”

\---

Nathan was on his way further into the school.

Whoever held that murderous intent he’d felt this morning had to be the one behind this. He should have said something! Why was he always like this!?

His immediate response to the alarm had allowed him to escape before the other students clogged up the exits in a panic.

Every course of student in UA congregated at the lunchroom so the vast majority of them were not even in the heroics course. That panic was understandable, but he couldn’t allow himself to get caught in it. 

His eye traveled to the window. The press had broken in but with the gate destroyed like that there was no way someone much more dangerous hadn’t slipped in with them.

His objective was to find them and stop them.

But UA’s campus was too big.

He rounded a corner and flared the scales on his back, grabbing the metal in the floor and the walls and using it to pull himself to a stop.

“Woah there! You ok?”

He was a tall muscular boy with blond hair.

“Oh oh! You’re coming out this way too? I don’t recognize you though! What class are you with? What year are you in?”

She was a girl with long blue hair that curled into large spirals.

“He’s probably trying to get away from the noise…”

A gloomy boy with black hair muttered as he faced one of the hallway walls.

“Y- Yes I was-” Nathan didn’t want to tell them he was running straight for danger so it was time to improvise, “I’m in class 1-A, I’ve only been here a few days and-”

“Oooh! You were heading to the support department after a quick lunch weren’t you!? I used to get lost doing that a lot! And then the alarm threw you off! That’s what happened isn’t it? Right?”

Or sometimes an excuse was offered to him free of charge.

“Yeah-”

“Well we wouldn’t be very good senpais if we didn’t help you out! Come on we’ll get you going to the emergency meeting locations.” The blond said, “I’m Togata Mirio, nice to meet ya!”

“Hado Nejire! Hey what’s your name! Hey! Hey! Is that an eyepatch? What’s it made out of!? Oh your arm is the same way! What is it?”

The third boy muttered a name almost too quietly for Nathan to hear over Nejire’s barrage of questions.

“N-Nathan Relnor, uh- They’re both made out of my quirk and-”

“Oh that’s a foreign name! But you speak Japanese so well! How’d you learn it? Do you know any other languages?”

Nathan finally managed to switch gears in his head. It was like talking with one of the child heroic spirits. Once he got himself into the proper mindset he began answering her questions just as fast as she could throw them out.

They continued like that as the three led him out of the building. The other two barely got a word in between the barrage of questions and answers firing between Nathan and Nejire. It was certainly a rarity for them to see someone able to match her energy so casually. 

“Thanks again! It was nice meeting the three of you!” Nathan called out.

“Likewise! I’ll be expecting great things from someone who can keep up with Nejire!” Mirio called out as they parted ways.

As soon as he was sure they were out of earshot he let out a defeated sigh. He hadn’t been able to find and stop whoever broke in. But as long as everything turned out ok then he supposed there was no harm done…

\---

Once everything was sorted out 1-A returned to their homeroom.

Midoriya promptly gave away his position as student council president to Iida. Apparently he had managed to quell the panic that Nathan had entirely avoided with his speedy exit.

Either way it didn’t matter to Nathan, they were both good candidates for student council president in his eyes, Midoriya just needed more confidence in himself.

“So where’d you run off to?” Sero asked.

“Hm? Oh. I got lost because I ran ahead. I’m used to sirens just meaning run so… Thankfully I ran into some 3-A students that helped me out a lot.”

“Man, for as calm as you always seem to be you can make some risky moves sometimes!”

“Nobody’s perfect.” Nathan said. Being calm under pressure usually allowed him to make even riskier moves because he had the time to properly plan them out.

Goredolf, as well as several of the Chaldean spirits, had always brought up that his being so used to danger and running headlong into it was a negative trait. But if it meant saving others he would always jump at the call.

And so the day came to an end without any further incident

\---

“Murderous intent huh?” Atalanta Alter said from her place across from Nathan.

He was having dinner in the Chaldean cafeteria as per usual.

Outside food had simply lost almost all of its appeal to him after years of having the more mom shaped heroes cook for him.

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure it was there but I couldn’t see who it was. There were just too many reporters.”

“It sounds like a UA problem. You’re just a student there. There’s no need to go chasing down every half wit villain that tries to shake the hornet's nest full of heroes.” To his right sat the Irish hero Cu Chulainn in his Caster form.

“If someone’s in danger I should try to help them. That’s just what a hero does.”

“You’re not a pro hero yet. You’re a child and it’s their job to protect you.”

Nathan’s gaze found its way to Boudica, sitting on his other side.

“I know it wasn’t always like that, but that’s the world you’ve entered now. It’s ok to let other people take care of things for you, especially if they’re dangerous.”

It didn’t sit right with him. He had worked so hard to save this world. He had sacrificed so much. If anything brought any danger to it in his sphere he would move to stop it. That’s simply how it was now.

“I understand your pain Master. But please. We are merely trying to look out for you now,” Atalanta Alter pleaded with him.

“Alright alright. I’ll try. I don’t make any promises though.”

“That’s all we’re asking Master. And please. Don’t hesitate to call us if you’re in too deep. We can always just explain it away later.”

He nodded as he continued eating his meal.

It wouldn’t get that far hopefully. Without encountering another Heroic Spirit he doubted there’d be at threat great enough that he’d need to call Chaldea.

He knew they would drop everything to run to his side, but they deserved to live their lives without having to constantly worry about him.

\---

The next morning breezed by. It was only after lunch that things got interesting.

“For your Fundamentals in Heroics, you’ll be supervised by All Might, myself, and another teacher.”

“Oh? What are we doing today sensei?” Sero called out.

“Today it’s a trial of rescue,” He said holding out another flash card with the word rescue on it.

The class rumbled about the supposed difficulty of rescue work. Nathan didn’t quite get it. Rescuing people was just something that came naturally to him. He’d rather rescue someone and run away than fight any day.

There were plenty of times where he wished he could have rescued more people…

Regardless, Aizawa offered the option to change into their battle gear, which Nathan took, and then advised the students that they’d be traveling to the site of their lesson by bus.

\---

After changing separately, Nathan caught back up with the rest of the group. Surprisingly Midoriya was the only one that had turned down changing into his battle uniform.

No wait. His costume had been mostly destroyed hadn’t it?

Regardless they boarded the bus without hassle. He found himself seated to Midoriya’s left near the bus doors.

“Hey Midoriya, I’m the kind of person that always says what’s on her mind.”

“Uh- Hi! Asui-san!”

“Call me Tsuyu-chan,” She interrupted before continuing her initial thought, “Your quirk kind of reminds me of All Might’s”

Nathan supposed that was true, it was a kind of super strength.

Midoriya’s reaction was something else though.

Was it because he was talking to a girl?

Or was it because she’d hit the nail on the head?

Either way he offered a stammering deflection.

“But All Might never hurts himself with his quirk!” Kirishima piped up, “I am kind of jealous either way. Strength enhancing quirks like that are real flashy. A lot more than my Hardening quirk anyway.”

He gave a demonstration as he spoke, hardening his forearms.

“Your flash doesn’t come from your quirk. A defensive wall that stands firm and offers hope, that’s all the flash you need,” Nathan said, smiling his smile.

“Bwah-”

“I think your quirk is really well suited to pro hero work!” Midoriya piped up, piling on the encouragement.

“Oh god there’s two of them,” Mina said from the other row.

“Anyway… When it comes to pro heroes, there’s a lot about it that’s more like a popularity contest than anything right?”

“My navel laser is both powerful and flashy.” Aoyama said flatly.

“Yeah but it’d be bad if your stomach collapsed!”

Nathan tried really hard not to laugh, but a chuckle escaped him when Aoyama’s expression shifted ever so slightly.

“If you really want the combination of power and flash you’re lookin at Bakugo, Todoroki, and Relnor!”

“Bakugo’s got too much of an attitude to be terribly popular,” Tsuyu said simply.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU BITCH? I’LL BE POPULAR AS HELL!”

A soft ribbit escaped Tsuyu as her point was instantly proven.

About a third of the class piled on the Bakugo teasing train causing Midoriya to marvel in amazement.

“Keep it down back there, we’re almost at our destination,” Aizawa called out.

Sure enough they pulled alongside a large domed building.

They were immediately met by a hero in an astronaut styled outfit.

Midoriya was quick to clarify who it was for everyone in a 100km radius.

Space hero Thirteen led them inside the large structure, revealing a complex that looked more like a theme park than a school. Nathan had a few uncomfortable flashbacks to Onii land and began scanning the area just to make sure there were no demons hiding in the shadows.

“This is a practical training area I created that simulates all kinds of disasters and accidents. It is called Unforeseen Simulation Joint!”

“Man they really were going for a USJ vibe weren’t they?” Kirishima called out.

“Thirteen, where is All Might? He was supposed to meet us here.” Aizawa asked, approaching his fellow teacher.

The space hero replied in a tone that was too hushed for Nathan to pick up. It was fairly odd wasn’t it? Perhaps he had other hero work to do.

“It can’t be helped, why don’t we get started?”

“Of course! Now before we begin I’d like to say one thing… er… Two things. Three things-”

A brief sense of dread passed over the class as Thirteen kept counting but eventually he interrupted himself.

“I’m sure you’re all aware of my Quirk, Black Hole, it is my ability to suck up anything and turn it to dust.”

Midoriya went off on how excellent a quirk that was for dealing with debris during rescue operations but Nathan’s mind went in the opposite direction.

A truly lethal quirk and yet he was a beloved rescue hero.

All of the sudden Nathan was fully invested in this lesson.

“It is however a power that can easily be used to kill people, a trait I’d wager it shares with your quirks.” He touched on why society limited quirk use as without proper training it was often easy to accidentally kill another. He followed up by going over the baselines established by their previous lessons. “This lesson is a fresh start. Let us study how to use your quirks to save life! Please always remember, your quirks do not exist to hurt people!”

Nathan felt like an iron rod had been driven through his heart by those words.

How many times had he been forced to do the opposite? He looked at his hands and for the briefest moment he could have sworn they were covered in blood. 

He shook his head and refocused on USJ itself as he faintly listened to Thirteen complete his speech.

“Alright first thing’s first-” Aizawa began.

The atmosphere shifted suddenly.

“We need to leave!” Nathan called out. In the space of an instant he shot to the front of the class. His helmet slammed shut over his head as he took an aggressive posture.

He must have sensed it earlier due to his natural affinity with electricity.

A current surged through the lights along the edge of the dome.

Something in the air distorted audibly.

Finally Aizawa turned to what Nathan had locked onto.

A black portal opened up and a man covered in hands pulled his way through.

Aizawa responded immediately.

“HUDDLE TOGETHER AND DON’T MOVE!”

Confusion overtook the class as he ordered Thirteen to protect the students.

Unfortunately one of them was already out of place.

“Um. Aizawa-sensei, has the lesson already started?” Kirishima asked.

Nathan almost couldn’t believe how his class was responding. The murderous intent from the man covered in hands alone put him on high alert the moment he stepped out of the portal. You couldn’t fake that kind of presence. 

“Don’t move! Relnor get back with the class! Those are Villains!”

The incident yesterday had been a cover to steal information on their location. He should have tried harder to find the intruder. This was his fault for not trying hard enough so he would not allow anyone here to be harmed.

He would surely face discipline for it later but if he could save even one person from injury then it would all be worth it.

Scanning the crowd of villains he found three priority targets. The initial man with hands simply due to his sheer killing intent. A large creature with its brain exposed that seemed beholden to that man. And Finally the source of that black portal itself was a villain. 

“N-No way, this is a hero school! Why would they attack here?”

Nathan couldn’t read any of their lips but his helmet was enhancing his audio enough that he knew what they were after.

To topple the Symbol of Peace known as All Might.

“What about the proximity sensors?”

“They’re down.” Nathan said sharply, “They’ve run a field through the dome. You’ll have to physically escape to get word out.”

“Excellent work young man, please join the rest of your class. I promise I will keep you safe-”

“Thirteen, get them out of here.” Aizawa pulled his goggles over his eyes and loosened his capture weapon. 

“Wait! Aizawa-sensei! You’re going to fight them alone? But your style is best suited for one on one ambush fights isn’t it!?” Midoriya called out.

“You can’t be a pro hero if you’ve only got one trick,” Aizawa said before leaping into the fray.

He would be able to hold himself against the crowd, Nathan was sure of that much.

But Midoriya was right. This was not a fight he was suited for. Once one of those priority targets moved things would get dicey.

“Young Man!” Thirteen called out.

But it was already far far too late to restrain that boy.

He leaped off the stairs, faintly registering the distressed calls of his classmates.

But they would be safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time its time to see how different things will turn out with a crazed Chaldea Master helping Aizawa fight! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
> 
> Have a Happy New Year everyone!
> 
> The Villains march on UA next time!!!


	6. Stand against the (Villain's March) (Cosmos Denier's Call)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!
> 
> It's finally time for USJ! How will things play out with a Master of Chaldea fighting at Aizawa's side? Exactly where are the limits on this boy who has experienced horror beyond comparison? I hope you all enjoy!

Aizawa canceled the quirks of the three ranged units that stepped up to shoot him down, taking them down in a matter of seconds.

As the large crowd of villains debated how best to handle someone that could nullify their quirks with a look, a mutation type villain charged him.

He’d been a pro hero for years. If they really thought he hadn’t trained heavily to deal with such opponents then they were in for a rude awakening. He slipped under the villain’s attack and delivered a devastating series of blows before tossing him into the next villain.

As he reset to blink he caught a glimpse of something that simultaneously made his stomach drop and filled him with unbridled fury.

Nathan Relnor.

The unassuming third problem child of his class.

He should have had someone restrain him physically before he jumped down.

This was the ultimate culmination of Nathan Relnor’s particular type of heroism. 

If a danger presented itself he moved to eliminate it. That was the path he was walking. It was certainly something one desired out of a hero but he was a boy of 16. There was no way he could fight on the level of an actual villain threat, no matter how well he did against robots or his classmates.

He was too young to have truly overcome his fear in the face of someone presenting an obvious threat to him.

With his job now twice as hard Aizawa began to fight in earnest. He needed to protect his students, even if they were too stupid not to jump into a crowd of villains.

\---

Even if they were more diverse than the average soldier he faced they were all still small time villains.

Experience in street fighting and using their quirks.

But these were the people who slipped through the cracks. They did not have the resources to truly experiment with what their quirks could do.

In a way, that there were so many people here was an indication that something was deeply wrong with the way the current system was structured.

But Nathan did not spare it too much thought.

_ ‘These people need to be saved too. I don’t have that kind of power now but as long as they survive they can be saved later,’ _ He thought as he arrived on the battlefield.

He was a ways away from Aizawa but close enough that they could keep an eye on each other. He wasn’t familiar with Aizawa’s combat rhythm so he wouldn’t be able to support him fully, as such a tandem battle was the best he could do.

A blade armed villain slashed at him, but he was so slow. Nathan reached up and grabbed the blade with his right, running a low level current through it before tossing the entire villain overhead at one of his allies. He followed it with a second shock just to make sure the other one was down too.

Ducking under the next wide swing, he swept his left leg out.

The affectionate nickname his fighting style had gained from Chaldea was Stun Gun Style. By constantly running a current through the outermost layer of his scales any contact with either of those limbs generally incapacitated a normal opponent.

He pulled himself back magnetically, avoiding another strike while returning a hammer blow of his own.

Refocusing somewhat, he turned his attention back to the three primary threats.

Why were there only two of them?

Two villains charged him, one swinging a whip out and the other jumping up and firing sharp objects from his arms. Nathan charged forward, only taking a few indirect hits before twisting himself under the whip in a way that didn’t sacrifice his forward momentum.

An open palm blow was all it took to bring them down.

The other villain landed and was electrocuted the moment Nathan planted his left foot.

He looked up to the stairs only to see that dark mist surrounding his classmates.

His mind went blank.

His vision shook for a split second.

_ ‘You came down here to save them. And now they’re going to die anyway.’ _

Paxti spoke to him, as he often did in stressful situations.

_ ‘Now it’s all on you. Survive and carry their memory like you always do.’ _

Nathan wanted to scream but two villains charged him from opposite directions.

He pointed both hands at either assailant. One was met with an electrical charge that stopped him dead in his tracks.

The other got a much less pleasant fate.

He activated the mystic code stored in his left gauntlet. An auto assist to help him cast a more effective Gandr.

These villains were from the surface of the world even if they’d fallen into some of its cracks. In other words they had no exposure or defense from the world known as magic that Nathan had drowned in. This meant they had no resistance to curses like Gandr, a spell meant to reduce an opponent's physical capabilities significantly.

A small black blast struck that villain directly in the chest with enough force to knock the wind out of him, downing him in a single instant as severe nausea overtook him. 

Nathan straightened up with an unsettling crack.

He would save everything he could. But he would also survive no matter the cost.

\---

It was almost comically absurd how many of them there were. But of the three Aizawa had been keeping his eyes on, one had slipped away in the moments between blinks. He swore under his breath as another three villains tried a simultaneous attack.

Long engagements like this weren’t his strong suit, but he would keep fighting as long as it meant keeping his students safe.

Even if one of them had jumped down in some asinine attempt to assist him.

Begrudgingly he had to admit that it was helping.

Nathan’s talent had exceeded his expectations again and again, but perhaps it wasn’t raw talent that he was seeing.

Nathan dodged a blow by less than an inch and countered with a quick jab that downed his opponent. He’d taken a few cuts and scrapes from somewhere in this brawl but he was holding his own.

Aizawa would have to prepare a very very long lecture on why everything he was doing right now was the height of lunacy, but he would need to leave a small section at the end for helping him. Maybe.

Distantly he registered the sounds of water sloshing around. The shipwreck zone was almost close enough that he could chance a glance over. But it was still too much of a risk given the sheer number of opponents in the area. 

\---

He’d yet to take any major hits. Unsupported tandem battles weren’t something Nathan was terribly experienced with. The quality of his usual opponent tended to be outside of human capability. No matter how strong he got he had never been able to catch up to the Heroic Spirits.

_ ‘Always a burden.’ _

He let out a wide arc of electricity, taking out the three villains charging at him from the front.

The two primary threats were still standing around. Nathan could faintly register counting from the man covered in hands. Was he counting down to something? Was it some kind of activation code? He didn’t have the time to properly focus on him.

But that other one hadn’t moved an inch.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a large nail.

Slamming his left foot into the ground he let out a large burst of electricity, removing everyone around him from the fight.

He needed the time.

His right hand split open and began building up a terrifying amount of power.

Pulled by magnetism the Nail hovered between those two pylons of scales as they began to let out an odd hum.

If that thing needed to be activated then there was a chance he could take it out of the fight before that handy villain decided to use his ace.

Nathan could vaguely tell it had been human at some point.

They wouldn't be the first person he’d ever killed.

He pulled the trigger. The nail shot forward at three times the speed of sound. An orange line tore through the battlefield and pierced straight through that creature’s midsection.

It let out a shriek as it staggered, its eyes locked on Nathan.

“What the fuck?” The hand covered villain muttered.

“Relnor you idiot just get going already!”

“Nomu. Crush him, make Eraserhead watch as one of his students dies.”

Nathan watched the small hole he’d blown in the Nomu completely heal over.

“Oh fuck off with that horse shit.” Nathan said dryly.

\---

Aizawa’s hearing was momentarily blown away by Nathan’s railgun blasting through the sound barrier. That boy had moved to preemptively take out one of the remaining problem targets.

But he had done so in a way that utterly disregarded the survival of his target.

That level of force was completely unacceptable-

“What the fuck?” He heard the hand covered villain say.

He was preparing to enter the fight himself.

“Relnor you idiot just get going already!”

If that problem child was worried about his prospects before he did not need to keep worrying about them now. One on one Aizawa would be able to take that guy out no matter what his quirk was. He just needed that kid out of the way before he got himself killed.

“Nomu. Crush him, make Eraserhead watch as one of his students dies.”

Aizawa’s stomach dropped like a rock. By the time he focused his quirk on the creature it had already regenerated the grievous damage it had received.

What kind of monster were they about to face?

Horror began to seep into him as he weighed his odds. If that thing was as strong as it looked there was a very high chance they were both about to die.

He had to do everything he could to at least save-

“Oh fuck off with that horse shit.”

How.

Actually how?

How in the world did that boy not even seem bothered?

There wasn’t any fear in those words.

How could there not be any fear in those words?

They’d both just watched that thing recover from getting shot with a railgun.

A massive explosion of water drew his attention to the shipwreck zone. 

\---

The moment that pillar of water shot up into the sky was the moment that creature moved. It all happened so fast that Nathan was still in the middle of reforming his right arm into a hand.

As such he couldn’t properly use it to form the weapon he needed to defend himself.

He flooded his body with magic, reinforcing his speed and strength as much as he could.

The Nomu was fast. Fast enough that it almost seemed to disappear in a blur of motion.

If it wasn’t for the years of conditioning. The years of fighting larger than life beings for survival he would have been obliterated in the next moment.

He began reconfiguring the scales in his leg in preparation for his counter attack.

It led with a right handed swing. The blow was too fast for him to dodge normally, but the creature was relatively straightforward.  _ Read and predict its actions, move before it starts moving, overcome your lack of ability with diligence and skill. _ He was moving before the blow came out, allowing him to just barely dodge it.

Its stance was wide so Nathan decided to try and shoot the gap. Pulling on the piping underneath them to speed up his movements beyond normal human reaction times he spun out of the way of that punch.

He advanced instead of retreating, allowing the forward momentum of his previous movement to pull him down and ahead. Weaving between that creature’s legs, he pulled himself up and swung his left leg.

Anything he could do with his arm he could do with his leg. That included creating an arc fusion blade.

When that creature turned around to swing at Nathan again it found itself unable to do so.

You could not hit someone with an arm that was no longer attached to your body.

The stench of charred flesh filled the air. 

A burst of electricity sounded as Nathan catapulted himself backwards. He brought himself to a stop by slamming his left hand into the ground and grasping at whatever he could.

Finally he was allowed the time to convert his limbs back into their default states. Landing on limbs that had been reconfigured for attacking was usually a good way to lose half of that limb. His battle gear armored his off limbs specifically for the times where he would need to come to a rapid stop and neither of his prosthetics were available.

Aizawa was looking right at that creature.

It was not regenerating.

That meant it’s healing factor was a quirk. It didn’t help in the long run but if he and Aizawa could focus this thing down there was a chance they’d be able to stop it.

But they were not the only pieces on the board.

That hand covered villain finally entered the fray.

\---

Aizawa watched completely dumbfounded as that boy not only weaved through a blisteringly fast attack, but managed to land his own severe counter blow.

Where had that reaction time come from?

Where was his fear?

Even as a pro hero Aizawa felt fear. He’d been afraid the moment these villains showed up to threaten his students. The major difference was that he had been trained to handle that fear. Nathan Relnor should have no such training...

He could waste no time being constantly knocked off guard by that outrageous problem child.

The white haired villain charged him.

“Che- the last boss came out to greet me himself?”

He was forced to take his eyes off the Nomu to cancel whatever quirk this one had.

But of course the moment they collided was one of the handful that he needed before he could retarget.

He felt a hand close on the elbow he’d attacked with.

Flesh began to crack and break apart. His arm was being disintegrated, spreading out from that point of contact.

“The time you can use your quirk is shrinking isn’t it? You’re not built for prolonged fights like this are you? I’ve been watching and counting! Don’t bite off more than you can chew Eraserhead!”

Aizawa slammed him with a left hook and jumped away.

Right into three other villains.

But he couldn’t let being down an arm slow him.

There was no way he would be defeated so easily. With heavy use of his capture weapon and the bodies of his enemies he managed to knock all three of them out of the fight.

That white haired villain was gone when he turned to look back at him.

No. He was on the ground. 

“What the fuck is that kid!?” He heard one of the villains say.

As much as he hated it, he agreed with the sentiment.

\---

The Nomus arm regenerated when Aizawa refocused on that walking hand collection.

“I know I can do that too to some degree but I still find that ludicrously unfair. I’m going to have to ask you to please stop,” Nathan said glibly.

He was only met with a bellowing roar as his opponent charged him again.

Its footing was tighter meaning it still had some cognitive ability.

That did little to change Nathan’s objective but it made him feel worse about it.

He’d come here to learn how to not hurt people with his quirk after all.

The Nomu took the extra precaution of swinging down with enough force to shatter the ground.

Nathan soared over that strike, as well as the Nomu itself.

An Arc fusion blade split its shoulder open.

When it whirled around to swing as its opponent landed behind it it once again lost the offending arm. Without missing a beat it followed up with a left uppercut. 

Nathan pivoted, pulling himself at an angle down and forward, allowing that fist to pass mere centimeters from his head.

If his opponent would not give him the space to evade under him he would make it.

He swung that blade of light and sliced through the Nomu’s legs. He let its momentum carry it over him, the creature landing with a loud crunching noise behind him. Even for it’s absurd regeneration it would be down for a few seconds.

It was enough time for him to check on the other half of the battle. 

Aizawa’s right elbow had been broken down by something.

Anger rose inside him as he leveled his left hand at that final primary threat.

That villain was not a mage.

One Gandr would be a powerful enough curse to stop him in his tracks.

He fired three.

With the Nomu as his opponent the hand man must have assumed Nathan would never be able to find the time to attack him.

So those three black fireballs took him completely by surprise, smashing into him with enough force to knock him off his feet.

He did not get back up.

One left.

The Nomu pulled itself up onto its newly regenerated legs.

Nathan took a moment to reassess. He suppressed the trembling that was surging through his body. This was an opponent that was both faster and stronger than he was. He was only barely managing to keep at its level during their exchanges and he knew that was going to come at a heavy cost..

Using so much power was starting to strain him. Eventually he would start burning out scales. Eventually he would start burning out his magic circuits. But he had to keep this up. Even if he destroyed his arm and leg he could remake them. Even if he was injured he could be put back together by Chaldea. As long as he returned alive he could get better later.

The Nomu flung a chunk of debris at him. It was terrifyingly fast but Nathan was already moving before it left its hands.

He let loose two Gandr blasts, each striking true.

If this creature could be slowed down with curses then maybe he stood a chance at holding out until help arrived.

It staggered slightly before launching forward. A fist slammed into the ground Nathan had been standing on mere moments before impact. It’s base strength was truly terrifying. If it ever landed a direct hit he was sure that would be the end for him.

He pulled himself magnetically, coming to a grinding halt next to Aizawa.

“Status?” He asked sharply.

“We are going to have a long talk when this is over.”

“Relevant status please.”

“Right arm’s shot, can’t hold my stare long,” Aizawa said before pausing. He hated it. He hated what he was about to do but he had no other options. To keep this problem child safe he was going to have to fight alongside him, “Yourself?”

“5-10 minutes tops. Too fast. Modes of attack insufficient. How long between blinks?” Nathan’s right arm was letting out an odd hum. Aizawa assumed he was building up for his next big attack and didn’t bother questioning it.

“Just a second or two.”

Nathan opened his mouth but was quickly silenced by the Nomu’s approach.

Aizawa darted to the side as Nathan shot forward to meet it.

It truly was a terrifying display.

Why did that boy always run in?

Why did that prospect not phase him at all?

The Nomu went for a grab, swinging both its arms wide and falling forward to try and cover his every escape route.

That wall of flesh closed around Nathan.

But.

Who was to say that wasn’t part of that problem child’s plan.

A massive burst of electricity surged through the Nomu.

It was airborn the next moment.

Nathan pushed off the ground as hard as he could carrying the Nomu far into the air.

The constant stream of electricity flowing into it from his back scales prevented its muscles from closing around him.

Once he was high enough he shoved his way out from under that creature. It reached up to try and grab him only to be met with a sword striking it in the chest. It didn’t carry any real amount of force but it was enough to stagger the Nomu out of its attack.

A golden portal disappeared from sight moments after delivering that blade.

Strange glowing lines weaved their way across Nathan’s arm.

This was not an opponent he could restrain himself against, nor was it an opponent he could maintain a sustained battle with.

He had to finish this here.

He was not a skilled mage but he had a powerful quirk to make up for it. Through a truly monumental amount of trial and error he had managed to combine those two skills into a single powerful attack.

Reinforced Lightning.

He had been building up power since his last disengagement.

One billion volts mixed with as much mana as he could safely supply.

Edison had once told him that this technique was the beginnings of a Noble Phantasm.

Nathan unleashed it all here, letting loose an absolutely terrifying amount of power.

The air broke down into plasma between himself and his opponent.

There was no chance of missing, the Nomu was already the closest thing to him even before he’d supplied a convenient lightning rod via the Gate of Babylon.

A horrid shriek filled the air as the Nomu’s flesh melted from the sheer heat of the lightning strike. Because it was off the ground the electricity had nowhere to go for a moment before bursting from its back and striking the ground.

An ethereal purple light bathed USJ’s main stage.

The attack only lasted a couple of seconds.

The Nomu hit the partially melted ground hard and made no moves to get back up. Not with Aizawa staring at it.

Nathan landed with an ungraceful thud, having only barely remembered to magnetically put on the breaks before hitting the ground.

His right arm was trembling. Its surface that had been smooth and glossy before was now a mess of out of place scales and charring.

If he hadn’t been using his arc fusion blade so heavily.

If he hadn’t fired a railgun.

He might have another one of those attacks in him.

But as he was now he wasn’t even sure he’d be able to make another arc fusion blade.

“How many are there left!?” He called out. He’d been looking directly at that lightning strike so he had a nasty afterimage burned into his retina for the moment. His electromagnetic vision was not helping much either, it had difficulty if people were standing either too close to each other or behind one another.

“Not sure, they’re not moving after that though.” Aizawa said, struggling against his urge to blink.

He’d watched that creature recover from losing all of its limbs and having a hole blown in it. There was a chance it had even survived whatever kind of attack that was.

It had certainly not been normal lightning.

“Shigaraki-” 

Black mist emerged from the ground near the fountain.

The third threat returned to the battlefield.

And he did not seem happy.

Darkness that had previously held a somewhat orderly air became frenzied.

Nathan swore under his breath. The Nomu’s defeat hinged entirely on that thing being the only target they had to deal with. 

“I’ll handle him! Don’t let that thing get back up!” Nathan shouted. He was expending too much mana but he had to keep fighting. He had to keep his teacher safe.

“RELNOR IF YOU DON’T STAND DOWN THIS INSTANT-” Aizawa roared.

But Nathan wasn’t listening.

He opened fire, testing the waters with a Gandr blast.

When that same blast struck him straight in the back he staggered from the force of the blow.

He was very very thankful he’d installed an Anti-curse mystic code.

So he was dealing with a Villain that used portals to fight? Unfortunately for him, that was an opponent he had a wide variety of experience with.

He would have to thank those golden kings for teaching him so much about how portal users fought.

Aizawa had seen that blast drop at least half a dozen villains in one shot. And here was Nathan pulling another inexplicable resistance out of his ass. His eyes had drifted to the portal villain for just a moment.

They snapped right back to the Nomu when he heard it move.

How?

How had it survived such an onslaught?

He was glad he hadn’t watched his student murder a villain in cold blood, but its survival filled him with dread.

Eventually he would blink enough times that it would get up and enter the fight once more.

If even that hadn’t been enough...

This battle had been going on for far too long. He simply wouldn’t be able to keep it down for much longer.

Was it better to try and focus down the new arrival and then deal with it when it got up?

“Ghrhhhn…”

That white haired villain covered in hands pulled himself off the ground shakily.

“Fucking! I hit you with three of those! You should be in bed till next week!” Nathan shouted. Once again there was no creeping dread in his voice at the prospect of now being completely outnumbered. There was only vague annoyance that his efforts were being undermined.

“Kurogiri… What the fuck is happening?”

“One of the students escaped.”

“What?”

“One of the students I failed to scatter got through the gates. The pro heroes will be here soon.”

Shigaraki just looked at the black mist villain, his hands shakily making their way up to scratch his neck.

“Aaaaaaah… Are you telling me… You couldn’t even keep some damn brats in line…”

“I mean to be fair, you couldn’t even keep one brat in check,” Nathan snarked.

Aizawa wondered briefly if that boy had any survival instinct to speak of.

It was a truly massive swell.

Killing intent flowed forward like a tsunami.

But it might as well have been a light drizzle to Nathan.

Aizawa was vaguely aware that there were two students watching from the edge of the shipwreck zone. 

Was that Nathan’s objective?

Was he just taunting them to keep all of the attention on himself?

There was being heroic and then there was lunacy and Nathan was veering far far into complete madness.

“Come on then.” Nathan said sharply.

“Kurogiri!” Shigaraki shouted as he charged. He thrust his hand forward through a portal that opened up in front of him.

The matching portal appeared behind Nathan.

Shigaraki made to grab his neck.

Or at least he would have if electricity hadn’t surged through his system.

It arced from Nathan’s back scales straight into that offending limb.

Every portal user he knew always went for whatever blind spot they thought you had. Even Nathan fought that way when using the Gate of Babylon heavily. Fortunately that villain’s attacks required physical contact so a simple discharge of electricity was enough to stagger him. 

“Listen,” Nathan began. His presence shifted considerably, making it seem like the very air around him had changed. “Just stop. I will unquestionably accept your surrender. This is senseless. Destroying the symbol of peace? What does that even mean? What could you possibly hope for from doing so? Power? Infamy? Whatever it is, it isn’t worth it. So just stop and accept help.”

“You couldn’t possibly understand you little shit-”

“Try me. I’ll listen to whatever you have to say, without judgement or scorn.”

Shigaraki faltered.

That shift in presence had taken hold of him in his rattled state. 

But he was already too far gone.

Some half improvised speech from a snot nosed brat would never reach him.

“Che- Kurogiri. Lets go. If the pros are on the way it’s game over anyway… But first-”

“You can’t keep running from the pain that drives you. Eventually you have to reach out to someone who won’t coddle you and encourage that pain or else you’ll never be free of it. It will consume you until it’s the only thing left.”

“I’m going to take my time ripping you apart.”

The sheer glee that accompanied those words made Aizawa’s hair stand on end. 

The Nomu was struggling to its feet.

Aizawa was reaching the limits of his abilities and he knew Relnor had to be well past his own.

Not that it showed on that boy’s face.

That calm air of understanding evaporated in an instant.

“Well. The offer is always on the table for you no matter how many times you turn it down,” He said with some resignation. His arm gave off a few odd sparking noises, as if it was having trouble containing its own power. 

The door at the top of the stairs exploded.

With three massive threats to his life in front of him he couldn’t spare it the attention. 

But they could.

“Ah… Looks like we’re getting a continue after all.” Shigaraki muttered.

“So he finally showed up,” Aizawa said under his breath.

“Everything is fine. I have arrived.” All Might said, thinly veiled fury in his voice and expression.

Nathan ran the matchup in his head. If All Might could just keep that Nomu busy for long enough he and Aizawa could handle the other two. That would leave it at a nice three on one fight well in their favor. Even if he was exhausted. Even if he’d taken a few hits here and there. He would continue as long as he could still fight. 

“Alright let's finish this up and go home,” Nathan said, electricity dancing across his palm.

So help him, Aizawa was going to hang that boy upside down from a tree and knock some sense into him.

“Relnor go tend to your fellow students.”

Before he could protest All Might was in front of them. The gaggle of remaining henchmen were blown away by his wake.

“I’m sorry for my absence Aizawa-kun…”

His heart stopped when he saw exactly who it was beside Aizawa.

“Young Relnor?”

“Yes sir,” He confirmed helpfully.

“Please stand down. This will be an excellent opportunity for you to see a pro in action.”

Nathan didn’t want to burden him with the knowledge that he had already seen history’s greatest heroes duke it out with each.

But he would not leave until this was finished. Until the threat was removed he would fight.

Even if All Might was here… He could not back down.

“Focus on the big one, that’s the one Aizawa and I can’t seem to bring down. The other two are chumps in comparison.

It was certainly an odd presence to feel coming from a student. Especially to All Might.

He felt like he was receiving orders from a field commander. 

That boy had no intention of standing down.

He respected the attitude but this was a different world than what he was used to.

Wait.

Was it?

Was it really?

Had he not been fighting at Aizawa’s side this whole time?

Had he not come from that mysterious hero organization known as Chaldea?

It was a question to ask later that was for sure. For now he had the support of another pro so there was no need to endanger a student any further.

“Relnor please. As a teacher. As someone put in charge of your safety. To have you needlessly endanger yourself is something I cannot stand,” Aizawa said, moving in front of the combat ready teen.

For the first time Nathan took a step back.

Another figure flashed in front of his eye.

Would Goredolf be saying the same thing? 

“I-”

He hated fighting. But he could not stand the idea of his teachers being hurt over his mistake. So he would swallow his feelings and fight anyway. But he was finally being pushed out the door. 

His attention drifted over to the two that had been watching the fight unfold from the water’s edge.

Midoriya Izuku and Asui Tsuyu.

“I understand. I will fall back.”

“About time.”

He rushed over to the side of the water.

“Are you two ok?” He asked calmly.

“Y-Yeah? Relnor-san your arm-” Midoriya muttered shakily.

“Everything will be fine. Let’s get going,” He extended his left hand out. 

“Where did you learn to fight like that Relnor-san?” Tsuyu asked as he pulled Midoriya out of the water.

“Around.” He said blankly, offering his hand to her.

Hesitantly she reached out and took it.

A blast of air pressure jostled the three, turning their attention back to that central fight. 

Aizawa was keeping Kurogiri on lockdown while dealing with Shigaraki hand to hand.

All Might was engaged in what Nathan could only describe as a battle between Heroic Spirits. The speed and power that he moved with would rival many of the Chaldeans he knew back home.

But why did Midoriya look so worried?

Was there something wrong there that he just wasn’t seeing?

He considered rejoining the fight but… His fellow students needed him more than All Might and Aizawa did. He would leave his hopes with them and focus on survival.

“Come on. We need to get moving,” He said.

“That’s rich coming from you,” Tsuyu said with a soft ribbit.

“Quite.” He agreed, “I want to check on the people at the top of the stairs. A bonus of double tapping all of the villains on the way is also nice.”

Tsuyu just couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that she’d just watched one of her classmates engage in such a high level battle. That creature was currently giving All Might trouble and Nathan had been fighting it. How had he been reacting that fast? How was he not terrified at the sight of it? What about him had allowed him to fight at the level of a Pro for even that brief amount of time.

“Wait…” Midoriya muttered.

“Midoriya. All Might is here. There’s nothing more we need to do,” Nathan said.

Both of the students gave Nathan a look that he simply brushed off.

But Midoriya did not move.

Something that had been said earlier on the bus occurred to Tsuyu

_ ‘Oh my god there’s two of them.’ _

She felt dread creep back into her system.

A massive cloud of debris exploded out, threatening to swallow the three of them.

It was only thanks to Nathan grabbing both of them and shooting forward that they managed to clear the blast.

“Who knew a backdrop slam was that explosive?” Nathan said with a tone that was a bit too dull.

He could faintly hear Uraraka at the top of the stairs. It looked like whatever danger they’d been in had passed.

“Come on-”

“No-” He heard Midoriya mutter.

When he looked to see what had Midoriya so flustered he took in a sharp breath.

Kurogiri had opened a portal, allowing the Nomu to avoid any damage from All Might’s attack.

They’d locked each other together.

Midoriya was about to run in. Nathan could tell just from the look in his eyes. There was something else wrong that Nathan didn’t know about that was driving him to desperation.

But a sickening squelch that interrupted both of their trains of thought. 

The portal the Nomu had been using disappeared, slicing it clean in half. It allowed All Might to pull himself free as it started to regenerate its lower half.

“Che- This is-” Shigaraki started before being knocked away by an unbelievably swift blow from All Might.

“Thanks Aizawa-kun!” He said, giving his fellow teacher a thumbs up.

This fight was unmanageable. The villains needed all of their quirks to truly get the upper hand on All Might. But with Aizawa present they could never rely on their quirks being there when they needed them.

It would be a losing battle of attrition.

Especially when Bakugo launched himself into the fray, pinning down Kurogiri with a series of small explosions.

The regenerating Nomu didn’t fare any better. Ice flowered across the ground before encasing its limbs and lower half. Todoroki and Kirishima approached the battlefield casually.

Two pro heroes, five relatively unscathed students waiting in the wings with powerful quirks, and one Master of Chaldea.

“I don't understand…” Shigaraki groaned out as he pulled himself up. The kids were beneath his concern when his target was All Might. So how the hell did one of them screw up his plans so so badly. The Nomu should have crushed Aizawa. Even if one of the kids was stupid enough to rush in they shouldn’t have been capable of fighting a weapon designed to counter All Might! 

So why!?

“You!” He pointed to one Nathan Relnor, “You! You! YOU! Nomu! Get this fucking brat off Kurogiri and then give everything you’ve got to killing that piece of shit!”

That scream had been directed at Relnor, but all of the students felt the weight of those words. It was like someone had driven a stake through their hearts and made them doubt every choice they’d made to reach this point.

But.

“Oh because that’s been going so well for you up until now,” Nathan said dryly as that enduring enemy broke through the ice and began regenerating his limbs again in earnest. He split his right hand open and created another arc fusion blade. It was noticeably smaller than his previous blades but it would be enough.

Todoroki took a step back, watching in horror as the Nomu shrugged off having it’s limbs shattered.

The Nomu exploded towards Bakugo.

But there was someone else there who could match its speed.

All Might tossed the boy over the villain, landing him near Midoriya and the others.

Taking a blow meant to crush Bakugo directly, All Might was knocked back, sending up a cloud of debris as he skidded backwards.

But he did not fall.

The Nomu had other orders, and it was keen to follow them.

It charged Nathan with another terrifying burst of speed.

All Might was on top of it in a matter of moments, grabbing it by the hand it had reared back, the hand Nathan was one step away from severing. With a great show of force All Might slung it into its allies before turning back to the students.

“Please. Everyone. Escape.”

“But- All Might!? Aren’t you already out of time- Ah!” Midoriya shouted out.

“All Might isn’t the only one here problem child,” Aizawa said, taking point next to him, “Leave this to the Pros.”

“Don’t any of you get it!?” Shigaraki shouted, “At the end of the day, violence is violence. Heroic? Villainous? Who draws the line here? There’s no difference in what you do and what we do. Symbol of peace? You’re just a tool to suppress those of us who want to be free. Once we kill you. The truth of violence will spread across the world.”

All Might opened his mouth to call the man out on his words but someone beat him to the punch.

“Huh!? Is that what this is about? You’re sick of the categories so you’re just going to destroy the walls between both of them and show the world your truth? What’s to stop you from just walking over that line yourself? Why do you have to kill and destroy to do it? If it’s all the same then why can’t you just be a hero!?”

Something had snapped and those words exploded out of Nathan Relnor. 

“If the line is so arbitrary then why aren’t you out helping people? If we’re doing the same thing then why did you break into our school and try to kill us? You’re just doing what you want and blaming everyone else for it!”

The air was at a standstill.

Shigaraki took a step back.

How had he lost so utterly and completely? When had it happened?

“Nomu. K-keep them busy. Kurogiri we’re leaving.”

An explosive burst of air followed immediately. Everyone was blown back except for Aizawa and Nathan who had managed to brace themselves in time.

That was just how much force All Might and the Nomu unleashed when they collided.

The wind was so bad that Aizawa lost eye contact with that portal Villain for a moment. In that brief instant Shigaraki disappeared inside his black mist.

“Built to fight me at 100% they said!? Then I’ll just have to go beyond 100%!” All Might roared as he began to push that creature to its limits.

This was what it meant to be a top level Pro Hero.

To push past your limits and save everyone around you.

All Might’s fist collided with that creature from below, overwhelming whatever shock absorbing ability it had and sending it flying straight through the large dome overhead.

The primary threat was eliminated.

All that remained was to collect the students and deal with the small time villains.

Nathan’s helmet split apart and folded around his neck. Strength left him as he shut off his reinforcement magic. He was exhausted. He was a human and that creature had been somewhere on the level of a Heroic Spirit.

Aizawa was not wrong to think he was out of his depth when approaching a monster like that but Nathan Relnor was a unique case. He had been fighting alongside heroes of that scale for so long that by pushing himself to his absolute limit he could attain similar results for a short period of time. That was simply what he had been forced to in order to survive.

The world did not remember the trials he and Chaldea faced. But that did not mean they didn’t happen.

“Relnor. Can you move?” Aizawa asked him.

It took Nathan a moment to respond. Something was weighing heavily on his mind clearly.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Cuts and scrapes and strains. Nothing unusual.”

“And your arm?”

“It’s shot but that’s not a big deal, I’ll just regrow it tonight. It’ll be good as new next time you see me. What about yours?”

“I’ll be fine.” With that he wrapped the boy tightly in his capture weapon and started to drag him towards the exit.

“Um.”

Nathan wasn’t readily trying to escape but he wondered why Aizawa felt this was entirely necessary.

“I don’t trust you to not run off like an idiot again so we’re doing this the hard way.”

\---

“Um why is Nathan tied up?” Shoji asked as the group returned to the top of the stairs.

Aizawa and Nathan just looked at him like he’d just asked why the sky was green.

Mina and Uraraka ran up to the group and started sobbing about how glad they were that they were ok. Despite everything. Despite the villains showing up with enough force to fight with All Might, they had all come out relatively uninjured. The only ones majorly injured were Aizawa and Thirteen, discounting Midoriya’s broken fingers and Nathan’s overexertion.

“Oh. Is it all over already?”

They turned to the door.

A group of pro heroes advanced.

“We just need to sweep up. All Might is down at the plaza checking around,” Aizawa said. 

“Understood,” Snipe said. He took point and started picking off the remaining villains as the other pros moved to secure the last of the scattered students.

Things were finally moving to a close.

“Why is Relnor-kun tied up Aizawa-kun?” Nezu asked as he approached the aforementioned teacher.

“Why are you tied up Relnor?” Aizawa, the person who had tied him up, asked.

“Because I jumped straight into a villain fight when you expressly told me not to do that?”

“At least you’re self aware,” Aizawa grumbled, “Not that you let it stop you.”

“It almost never does.”

“Relnor-san, did you contact Chaldea during this engagement?”

Nathan just gave him a blank stare before registering what he’d said.

“No?” He paled as he spoke. The realization that he probably should have called them if only because it would upset them when they heard that he hadn’t dawned on him. “Should I have?”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not. It seems like everything has worked out rather well regardless.”

“Why would Relnor-san call Chaldea?” Midoriya asked.

“I live there,” Nathan said simply.

Midoriya’s mind came to an abrupt stop.

That secret hero reserve force that barely anyone knew anything about.

And his friend for a month and some change had lived there the whole time? He had been hearing Chaldean conversations?

If he hadn’t just been in the middle of a massive villain attack he’d have been furious at Nathan for keeping that information to himself.

But right now he was just glad they’d all managed to survive their first encounter with Villains.

“The emergency responders will be here soon, let’s start getting you all outside and make sure you’re all ok!” Nezu announced cheerfully.

\---

Nathan and Aizawa sat near one of the ambulances that were pulled up outside of USJ. Thirteen had been grievously injured and immediately rushed to surgery. Aizawa’s arm was bandaged but the damage had not been deep. He would simply wait for Recovery Girl to treat him. 

“I’m only going to say this once, and it’s going to go against everything I’m going to yell at you tomorrow once I’ve had time to sort everything out in my head.” Aizawa started quietly.

This caught the lightly bandaged teen’s full attention.

“Thank you. I don’t know how well it would have gone if you hadn’t been there. It’s my job to protect you so I would have accepted any outcome, but thank you for giving me this one, where none of my students were badly injured.”

Nathan just looked at him with a blank expression on his face.

Almost like he was having some difficulty processing what Aizawa was telling him.

“I just did what I felt was right. As much as you can’t stand the idea of your students getting hurt, I couldn’t stand the idea of my teacher getting hurt either.”

Aizawa was completely blindsided by what followed.

That smile and the overwhelming emotion it expressed.

He recognized it for what it was.

Love.

So much love that it had an almost inhuman quality to it.

Faint flashes of a friend he’d never see again with a smile too bright came to the forefront of Aizawa’s memory.

“I know it was wrong, and I know I deserve admonishment for going against you. But reaching this outcome made it worth it to me. I couldn’t handle being responsible for too many people being injured. I already feel bad enough about you and Thirteen.”

Wait.

The gears in Aizawa’s head came to an abrupt stop.

What was he on about?

“Relnor you are in no way responsible for this incident.”

“I noticed someone with murderous intent with the reporters yesterday but I couldn’t single them out and when I saw the gates come down I thought it would be fine so I didn’t say anything. Then when the alarm went off I knew it was them and went looking but I couldn’t find them or stop them. They probably stole the information that they used to plan this attack so because I didn’t stop them-”

“Relnor.”

Aizawa had turned to face the boy completely.

He was glaring at him.

“That is not your responsibility as a student.”

No wonder this ridiculous boy had acted so far out of line.

He blamed himself for the entire thing and was acting out of guilt and a desire to correct his perceived mistakes.

“UA’s security measures failed. That’s why this happened. You should be focusing on how to become a proper hero. Your safety is our responsibility and  _ we _ failed  _ you _ . Not the other way around.”

Nathan looked at Aizawa like he’d sprouted two additional heads.

“Being a hero does not mean you have to take the entire world on your shoulders and keep it safe all by yourself. Rely on us. Rely on your peers. Let go and grow with them. Become heroes with them.”

A soft hiccup came from that boy’s throat. He was holding together but it looked like the slightest tap would send him over the edge.

“It is ok to run away from a situation like this where your life is on the line. It is ok to ask an adult for help with something you can’t overcome.”

Aizawa watched as that boy suppressed the overwhelming emotions his words were bringing up. It was eerie to see him mentally compartmentalizing his feelings to deal with later. 

“I-” he finally got out.

His breathing was a little erratic but he was rapidly regaining control of himself.

“Thank you…” he said almost too quietly for Aizawa to register.

“This started out as me thanking you problem child… Go talk to your classmates they’re hovering.”

With a gentle shove, Nathan was pushed away from the ambulance.

Aizawa watched as that shaky boy made his way over to his peers.

He was going to have some words with Chaldea.

Exactly how had a boy in their care come out like that?

What horrors had he experienced?

If Aizawa was going to help him he needed to know more.

\---

“Relnor-saaaaaaan!!!!” Mina shouted, running over and hugging the boy.

He flinched at the sudden contact but relaxed quickly.

“You’re actually a lunatic, you know that?!” She said, tightening her grip on him.

“I have been told as much before,” He said dryly. 

He didn’t see Midoriya in the group but last he’d checked the boy had been with All Might.

Who was also gone.

Curious.

Shoji and Yaoyorozu approached the two, exchanging a worried glance as Mina continued her endeavor to crush the life out of him.

“Are you ok Relnor-san?” Yaoyorozu asked.

“Can’t breath but otherwise fine. Cuts and scrapes. Nothing serious.”

Finally Mina let him go, giving him a soft pout as she did.

“I must say that was quite the performance,” Shoji said in a tone Nathan couldn’t quite pin down, “When you went toe to toe with that large villain I was sure you were about to die but… Where did you learn to move like that?”

“Around,” Nathan supplied unhelpfully, “The best place against a strong and fast opponent is too close for them to fully rear back to hit you. If you’re agile enough to keep up with them anyway. Thankfully I could follow his speed otherwise I would have just died.”

Another series of odd looks told Nathan he’d said something strange.

“Wh-Why are you so casual about that!? If he was too fast you would have died!? That’s terrifying!!!” Mina shouted.

“It is how it is.”  
“You’re not in shock are you?” Yaoyorozu asked, “From the stress?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Oh man!” A new voice came in from the side. Hagakure and Ojiro approached the four, “Nathan your arm!? Is it ok?”

“Not really. I’ll have to replace it when I get home.”

“R-Replace it?” Ojiro said, paling significantly.

Oh right that was probably not a sentiment any of them were used to hearing so casually.

“Yeah. I’ve talked with you about it with Yaoyorozu-san but replacing my arm isn’t too big of a deal. It’ll be as good as new by tomorrow.”

It was rather alarming how casually he discussed damage that severe but…

“How long has your arm been like that?”

“Mh. Four years or so?”

Ah. That’s why he was so casual about it. He was used to it.

Wait.

No that didn’t make any sense to her either.

Why was he used to destroying his arm in direct combat?

If it was four years ago, he would have been twelve.

The more she talked to him the less she understood him.

“Does regrowing it hurt?” Ojiro asked.

Nathan’s face froze at a thin smile for a moment while he recovered from the question.

“I’m used to it!” He said approximately truthfully. It wasn’t the most pain he’d ever experienced in one go but it was certainly agonizing. Removing the scales hurt. Regrowing them hurt even more. He needed to be able to feel what he was doing so he could never have local anesthetic while regrowing scales.

“That’s not a comforting answer, Relnor-san.” Shoji said dryly.

“Sorry,” He said instinctively.

“Still that was absolutely insane!” Mina interrupted, “I thought Midoriya was good at dodging but you were just like woosh!” She passed her fist just past her own face as a visual demonstration.

“Mh. I realized I was probably in trouble after it regenerated the railgun shot off but thankfully I managed to just stack enough damage on it to keep it pinned.”

Nathan watched them continue chatting, the tension and fear of the day began to ebb away from them.

He was glad. They’d seen him go something close to all out and they did not seem overly perturbed by it.

Somehow they had accepted him even though he had displayed that monstrous side of himself. The side that allowed him to bring an end to the Lostbelts. 

It was a part of him. That deadly mindset that concerned itself with his own survival above all other things. It was a loud part of him that took many faces, but he did not want to go back to it. He did not want to be stained with blood yet again.

This incident had made him knock on the door to that former self of his. But he had not allowed it to fully answer.

“My my. Is everything alright?”

A dapper man walked up flanked by a police officer.

Nathan’s eye went wide.

“Sherlock what are you doing here?” He asked.

His friends looked at him and considered for a moment that he was displaying more open fear here than he had that entire fight.

“We heard there was an incident. From someone that wasn’t you. So they decided I should come by and see what all the fuss was about.”

That man was smiling but his emotions were hard to follow. He was off in a way that was hard to describe.

“Regardless. Good work clearing everything up. It seems like you did quite the exemplary job. As I would expect of you.”

“Who is that Relnor-san?” Mina asked finally.

“I am Sherlock Holmes, point of contact for the Chaldea Security Organization. It is a pleasure to meet you all.” He said, giving a bow.

It was everyone else’s turn to be taken aback.

They’d all heard something or another about Chaldea but it was all so vague.

And yet.

Why were Nathan and Sherlock conversing so casually?

“I’m sorry I didn’t call. I thought… I just-”

A gloved hand fell onto his head.

“I’m proud of you. For solving it all by yourself. But now is the time to let go and let the adults in your life take care of it for you. I doubt you’ll be able to but do try to rest when you get home.”

Nathan blinked, his words having died in his throat. Sherlock gave the other students a wave as he continued on with the police officers.

“So was that your dad or?” Hagakure asked.

“N-No no no! He’s- He’s just been taking care of me for a bit!”

“Wait. Relnor-san. You said you live at a hero organization right?” Mina began.

“Yes?”

“Is that hero organization Chaldea!?”

“Yes.”

Shoji vaguely recalled a conversation he’d had with Nathan a few days ago at lunch where he said he’d been saved by Chaldea. Had he been with them since then?

“Were you keeping that a secret for any reason?!”

“No? Nobody asked directly so I did not give a direct answer. It’s a bad habit of mine that I picked up from someone who definitely isn’t here and absolutely isn’t named Sherlock Holmes.” Nathan snarked while pointing directly at the aforementioned man. 

Something about that struck them as odd.

Nathan was fairly reserved and was usually not one to joke around too much, so seeing him openly jeer at someone was unusual for them.

Although they’d only known him for a few days so who was to say that this wasn’t his normal behavior finally coming through after getting used to everyone?

\---

The return to UA was quiet. Everyone was either bouncing the same questions off of Nathan regarding his brief jump into pure insanity or were shell shocked from their own encounters.

He couldn’t blame them.

He remembered Fuyuki.

That city of flames seemed so far away now.

How had he come to view that horrible corrupted landscape as nostalgic?

He remembered how inexperienced he and Mashu were. How Olga and Cu had basically had to drag them to victory on their backs.

But he survived.

And his class had survived this.

They would grow stronger from it. This was their first step into the world of villains. While not as controlled as his teachers probably wished it was, the fact that none of the students had been critically injured couldn’t be overlooked.

He walked out of UA alone today. He’d slipped away because he wanted to avoid another endless barrage of questions. He’d have more energy for them tomorrow.

“Oh.” He heard a small voice call out. It wasn’t one he recognized as a classmate so he turned his head to investigate.

“You’re… Ah. I remember. You made it in!” He said with his characteristic smile.

“Ah-” She flinched at the weight of the emotion that smile conveyed, but she wouldn’t falter this time. “Thank you!”

He had saved her. Even if it was a practical exam. Even if she hadn’t been in real danger. He had moved to save her all the same. She’d wanted to thank him ever since arriving at UA but she had simply never had the chance until now.

“I-” He started, clearly knocked off guard, “You’re welcome?”

“Kodai Yui. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Relnor Nathan. A pleasure.”

He gave her a wave before moving on. His ride had arrived and keeping this one waiting was a recipe for disaster.

She sat atop a large dinosaur bearing her name.

_ “Hey Quetz.” _

_ “Haaaaiiiii Master!” _

He quietly glanced around, there weren’t too many students around and none of them seemed to be paying attention to the things she was saying over the fact that she was riding a dinosaur. Perhaps he hadn’t fully registered that they were not speaking Japanese.

_ “Shall we be on our way?” _ He asked.

_ “Yes! Let’s get back home! We have a lot of yelling to do!”  _ She said, obligingly lowering the reptile so he could climb aboard.

_ “I was afraid of that. But… Do you think it can wait? I’ve been holding everything together but I’m at my limit here...” _

He let his focus drift for a moment. His body started trembling the moment he stopped trying to restrain it.

In order to reassure everyone he’d suppressed the symptoms of overusing his mana. It wasn’t a disease with proper symptoms so showing the emergency workers wouldn’t have done him any good. 

_ “I see. That won’t do at all! Your big sister will get you help right away!” _

They took off in an explosion of motion, soaring through the skies towards Chaldea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that was everything you all wanted it to be! It was a lot of fun to write! Fighting the Master of Chaldea is no small task after everything he's been through! And boy has he been through a lot! I wanna thank everyone for leaving such nice comments and reviews! It really does brighten my day whenever I see them! I hope you all have a wonderful New Year!
> 
> Next time! War comes to Chaldea in this time of supposed rest! See you next week!


	7. A day of (Pure Chaos) (Rest)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! Time for a bit of a breather after that big punch up last chapter! But I mean, when does Chaldea ever actually get a break? Thank you all so much for the reviews! Glad to see you all enjoyed getting a look at what the Singularities and Lostbelts can turn a person into!

When Sherlock returned to Chaldea he informed Nathan that UA would be canceling classes the next day.

It was an attempt to give the students time to decompress and come to terms with what had happened the day before.

And so he was allowed to sleep in.

“Master. Master. Master get up. Master. Maaaaaster!”

Nathan opened his eye and leveled a glare at Oda Nobunaga.

“What?”

Nobunaga pointed a nerf gun at his head.

“I accidentally started another nerf war and I’m taking you hostage for leverage.”

Allowed was a strong word.

“Can I get dressed first?”

“No, the Shisengumi are already on the way according to Chacha.”  
“Is it just you and the Shisengumi?”

“Um. Yes.”

Nathan looked at the tiny black haired Archer class Servant.

“Technically.” Nobunaga added.

“How many members do you have?”

“You’ll have to consult Nobukatsu for that! But my personal squadron is ten strong!”

“I’m getting dressed anyway, if only to have some mystic codes available to heal myself.” He said flinging his comforter over her head.

He did not sleep in immodest attire. That was a habit that had to be broken as soon as the trio famed for breaking into his room every night arrived. He wore Chaldea themed pajama pants and a white tshirt with the word EXTRA printed on it.

A soft thump from behind him indicated that Nobunaga was in fact losing her battle against his comforter.

Quickly changing into the mystic code he’d needed to wear during his trip to Uruk he prepared for the worst as Nobunaga finally freed herself from her blanket prison.

She leveled her nerf gun at him once again.

“So Master. You’ll have to pick a side today! Is it with me or the Shisengumi?”

“I think this time I’m playing wild card.”

“Wh-”

Before she could respond he kicked over the table in his room and ducked behind it. He pulled the nerf pistol he’d taped to the underside of it off and held it out to see just how trigger happy Nobunaga was.

A dart zoomed past him, probably aiming for where his head would have been if he’d charged out.

“Count I need covering fire.”

Nathan’s shadow extended out and from within a figure clad in the flames of vengeance emerged. The Count of Monte Cristo was one of his most stalwart allies, Nathan could always rely on him to be nearby and ready to answer at the slightest call.

“At your command Master.”

From his cloak Edmond Dantes pulled out a large custom nerf rifle.

Nathan briefly wondered if he’d let this whole nerf war thing happen a few too many times.

Either way Edmond darted out from behind the table and opened fire, striking Nobunaga square in the chest.

Nathan followed his lead, jumping out and taking aim. A holographic blue ring shone out from his nerf pistol, displaying enough information on how it was pointed to compensate for his lack of depth perception. With that type of advantage his shot struck Nobunaga’s head ensuring that she was out of the game.

“Guh. Tell my brother… I loved him…” Nobunaga fell over letting out many exaggerated groans as she ‘died.’

“Well that’s one Nobunaga down,” Nathan said, taking her nerf rifle away from her just in case she decided to pretend she wasn’t dead.

“Yes. Moreover I believe your room is surrounded. I suggest a tactical retreat to the cafeteria so that we may recruit some allies to our cause.”

“Sounds good, let’s go.”

Edmond picked up his wayward Master and used his abilities to “Escape” space and time. They emerged from the darkness between the folds of reality into the cafeteria with a dull thud.

“Oh good you lived.” EMIYA said with a smile, “Breakfast?”

“Dear god yes.”

\---

Midoriya watched as his phone rang. Usually Nathan texted him something in the morning but today he’d been quiet. And so he decided to call his friend to make sure he was ok.

It had nothing to do with the fact that he now knew Nathan lived in Chaldea and wanted to see what he could overhear.

“Hey, sorry I’m kind of busy today,” Nathan said in a hushed tone.

He was breathing heavily and Midoriya could faintly register yelling in the background.

“Oh! I’m sorry! Is something wrong-”

“No. No more than usual for around here. Nobunaga started a nerf war and apparently Most of Chaldea has formed an intricate faction system and I’m just trying to live my life Midoriya.”

He sounded more stressed than he’d been after going toe to toe with that massive villain yesterday.

“A nerf war?”

“It happens every now and then.”

“I hear yelling, are you sure everything is ok?”

“They’re being dramatic,” Nathan said dryly, “Um…”

“Hm?”

“Your arms are healed up right?”

“Yeah! Good as new!”

“You… You were interested in Chaldea right?”

“Absolutely! I mean I like all hero organizations but Chaldea is just so mysterious that any scrap I can find about it is-”

“Do you wanna come over and help me out? Apparently there’s a prize worth fighting for in this Nerf War so I haven’t been able to get many heroes to back me up.”

Midoriya’s mind went blank.

He was being invited into Chaldea?

Was that really what was happening right now?

“I also feel bad that we haven’t been able to hang out much since school started. I keep getting distracted by wanting to talk with everyone.”

“Y-You can make other friends Nathan it’s ok!” He said.

“So you don’t want to come over?”

“No I absolutely do, one hundred percent.”

“Ok I’ll send the Count over to pick you up. Make sure you tell your mom.”

With that Nathan hung up.

Midoriya bolted into the living area where his mom sat quietly watching TV.

“MOM I'M GOING OVER TO A FRIENDS HOUSE!” He shouted perhaps louder than he’d intended.

“Oh! How wonderful! Do you need me to pack you anything?”

“Um? I don’t think so. I just wanted to let you know where I was going and ask if it was ok!”

“Absolutely Izuku! I’m so glad you’ve already made such good friends at UA!”

She absolutely beamed at the thought of her quiet son having another friend he could spend his off days with.

Midoriya returned to his room in order to make sure his things were in order before leaving.

He let out a muffled yelp when he noticed there was someone else already there.

“Midoriya Izuku I take it?” The man in a dark green cloak asked.

Everything about the man seemed to scream villain but before Midoriya could fully process this he spoke again.

“Nathan has instructed me to take you to Chaldea. Do you have a nerf gun by chance?”

“No?”

“A pity. One will be supplied to you then. Come along.” He extended his hand to the boy. There was a sense of reluctance about him but Midoriya simply nodded.

“Can we do this out front so my mom sees me leaving and doesn’t think I crawled out my window.”

“Fine.”

Midoriya blinked and the man was gone.

He must have some kind of warping quirk. An extremely powerful one at that if he was able to disappear so quickly.

Wait.

That had to have been a Chaldean pro hero! He had just talked to one of them! One of them had been in his room!

He had to suppress his urge to scream and write about it in his journal. He had an actual Chaldea to explore. Writing could be done later.

He gave his mom a quick wave and exited his house. 

Someone grabbed his shoulders the moment the door closed and everything went dark.

He couldn’t even begin to describe what he was feeling. Beyond the cloaked man holding onto his shoulders behind him he couldn’t tell where anything was. With no reference point even his sense of time failed him. The endless darkness of the void stretched out before him and threatened to take him should he lose focus on his sense of self for even a moment.

He blinked and he was in a room with Nathan and two others.

“What just-”

“Thanks Count. Here take this,” Nathan immediately offered him a nerf pistol as if he hadn’t just experienced an endless eternity beyond time and space.

“Um. Hi?” He said to the two adults lingering behind Nathan after accepting the pistol.

One of them was a beautiful woman with blond hair. She wore a black dress the likes of which he’d never seen and wielded a nerf rifle that seemed to be brimming with an unnatural power.

The other was a lanky white haired man clad in a black skin tight suit. He had a large red feather cape hanging behind him from two golden shoulder pads that didn’t seem to be attached to anything.

“This is Ereshkigal, Karna, you’ve met the Count, and Gramps is watching the door.”

It was only when Nathan pointed him out that Midoriya noticed him.

Death itself stood facing the door. That man was well over 200cm and held a nerf gun that was probably quite large but was dwarfed by his imposing skull themed armor.

“Everyone, this is Midoriya Izuku. He’s a good friend so please be nice to him,” Nathan said calmly.

This was it. This was Chaldea. These were Chaldeans. He was actually here inside their facility.

It looked like a relatively normal room. Nathan himself stood next to a table with a large map spread across it. He’d fashioned some custom pieces and had them laid across the map to mark key locations.

“So here’s the situation. We’ve got something like seven or eight factions. Apparently the last one standing gets some kind of prize so they’re being a little more competitive than normal.”

“D-Does this happen often?” Midoriya asked, walking over to the table to get a better look at the map. Chaldea was a truly sprawling facility. It had several rooms marked as out of play but was still easily as big as a large apartment complex. Unmarked was how many floors this structure was.

“Mh. Every month or so. It’s a good stress reliever. Sometimes.”

“It is an enjoyable break,” Karna said, shifting his stance slightly, “There are simply too many of us to fill the requests we receive for aid, so certain members of our organization can grow quite bored.”

“Oh. I understand,” Midoriya nodded.

An avalanche of questions begging to be asked waited, but he didn’t want to come off as some sort of spy. He would just go along with whatever they were doing and see what he could find out from there. 

“The rules of engagement are simple. Three shots and you’re out unless you get shot in the head or directly in the heart.” Ereshkigal explained. “Quirks are fair game as long as they’re not too destructive.”

That meant Midoriya’s quirk was off the table.

“Has our intel unit gotten back yet Gramps?”

“Aye, he approaches.”

That hulking monstrosity stepped to the side as the door opened.

A familiar tattooed man entered.

“Oh. Hey Mido, what are you doing here?”

“I recruited him for extra manpower.”

“Aaaaah I see I see. Well lets go over enemy positions real quick,” Yan Qing said, approaching the map.

The level of tactical thinking that followed left Midoriya reeling. It was as if they were conducting an actual war, discussing potential strategies, potential casualties that may result from them, how such losses might impact their overall prospects of victory.

Midoriya was skilled when it came to individual one on one fights that relied on applying quirks in the correct way.

But listening to Nathan essentially wage war on Chaldea was something else.

It was a completely different skill set from Midoriya’s.

“The knights are going to be a problem,” Karna muttered, “We don’t have the manpower to match them at all and picking them off is going to be tricky.”

“What if we don’t fight them directly? We could just get them and the Romans to clash. That might be enough,” Nathan suggested.

“It would thin the herd at least.”

“Um. What’s our most pressing threat?” Midoriya asked.

“Immediately? The Shisengumi. If Okita and Nobunaga meet up and their factions merge it’ll be a big problem mainly because we’ll just be surrounded.”

Karna pointed to a point on the map for Midoriya just so it’d be easier for him to follow along. “There aren’t that many of them so we should be able to fight them man to man except for Hijikata.”

Midoriya found it a little strange that all the heroes in Chaldea seemed to use their hero names even in Chaldea but he supposed that it was good practice for hiding their true identities. Not to mention that all of their hero names had some sort of historical or mythological meaning behind them.

“We should try to take back the cafeteria so we can have lunch,” Nathan said simply.

“Which means we’ll have to deal with the artists and the french,” Yan Qing said simply, “If we give them time Salieri will probably lose it and start a civil war for us.”

“Or we could throw fuel on the fire.” Nathan added. “We’ll get to it when we get to it, for now we need to clear our surroundings and move on. Yan Qing, what about Okita Alter?”

“Willing to join us at the drop of a hat.”

“Cool, I’ll appeal to her myself then. Midoriya you’re with me, the rest of you. Survive.”

“Yes Sir!” they called as the relatively small group filed out of the room.

“You guys take this so seriously,” Midoriya said with a nervous chuckle.

“It is like that sometimes. It’s good practice for tactical thinking at least.”

“I’ll say.”

“Alright Midoriya, let's get moving. Don’t forget to watch our flanks.”

“Yes sir!” Midoriya said on reflex before realizing Nathan was the same age as him.

It was simply his presence. Nathan already had the air of someone who had commanded many battles.

\---

Ten minutes later they’d found their Target. She stood with her frankly ridiculous shoes which added about 18 cm to her height. She seemed to be asleep on her feet despite this.

Another woman who looked almost exactly like her but with less of a tan and shorter more colorful hair stood with her nerf rifle at her side.

They were both around the corner and weren’t paying attention so Nathan and Midoriya had the element of surprise on their side.

Nathan motioned to his eye and pointed to their surroundings before nodding and stepping out.

His movements were absolutely silent. Midoriya had no idea how he was doing it beyond that it must have taken a ton of practice.

Leveling his pistol, Nathan fired once, striking the shorter woman in the back of the head.

“BWAH!” She coughed up blood before falling over, waking the long haired version of herself. 

“Oh. Hi Nathan,” The long haired one said with a yawn, “I wasn’t sleeping.”

“I believe you. Wanna join our side?”

“Absolutely. I’m only here because Okita asked me first. And she’s dead now so…”

“We’ve got company!” Midoriya called out.

Nathan and Okita Alter turned to look where Midoriya was pointing.

“Oh fuck.” Was the only thing that escaped Nathan’s lips.

Dozens of golden portals bathed the hallway in an ethereal light.

“Well well well. You’ve gone and recruited a couple of mongrels I see.”

He was shirtless with red lines tattooed on his torso. His lower half was clad in golden armor. He had his blonde hair slicked back.

Midoriya had never seen this man before but he could tell he was some kind of royalty just by looking at him.

Most importantly. Each of those golden portals had produced a gold plated nerf gun.

All of them were trained on Midoriya.

“Gilgamesh…”

“I’m ashamed mongrel. Truly. You’ve been waging this war for nearly three hours and you haven’t come to request aid from your king!”

“Uh… You wanna help us out?”

With a snap of his fingers the golden portals snapped shut.

“Fuahahahaha! Of course, I only play for the winning team!”

“We’re dealing with the Shisengumi right now. The others should be herding Hijikata this way. I want to seal off his escape routes.”

“Consider this hallway covered!” Gilgamesh shouted proudly.

“I can stay here and man this one,” Okita alter said, “I promise I won't fall asleep.”

Midoriya finally recovered from having his life flash before his eyes at the sight of so many gun barrels pointed at him, “I’ll take this side.”

“Good.” Nathan said, approaching Midoriya. “Hijikata is extremely wild so be ready for anything.”

Just as he finished speaking.

Almost as if called.

A shout so loud Midoriya swore their opponent was already right in front of them rang through the hallway.

“THIS! IS! THE! SHISENGUMI!”

It was an explosion of a man.

How he managed to turn the corner going that fast was beyond Midoriya.

He was charging straight at Gilgamesh, who obliged, opening up the Gate of Babylon and firing on the approaching man.

He drew a sword and began deflecting nerf darts as he charged ahead.

“HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!” He roared, eyes blazing.

“Are swords even allowed!?” Midoriya screamed as Nathan aimed his pistol, a strange blue ring of light emerging from the gun as he did so.

“Get ready to fire!” Nathan shouted.

The moment Hijikata arrived at that intersection Nathan, Midoriya, and Okita Alter pulled their triggers.

Three darts struck Hijikata just as he pressed his own nerf gun against Gilgamesh’s temple.

“So… This is how it ends… Nathan. Please. Carry the Shisengumi with you.”

His nerf gun dropped from his hand as he staggered backwards before falling himself.

Midoriya couldn’t help but admire him. He had faced that golden barrage head on where he'd only managed to quake in fear. Truly he had a long way to go before he reached the level of a pro hero.

A soft plink sounded.

A nerf dart hit the ground.

“You… You dare… You mongrel!” Gilgamesh got out before he fell to the ground.

Behind him stood a woman with long white hair wearing a red dress.

Midoriya recognized her as the woman that had driven Nathan to UA on the day of the entrance exam.

“Revenge for my fallen comrade. I won’t let your sacrifice be in vain my dear…” She said as both Nathan and Okita Alter’s darts struck her in the head and side respectively.

She fell to her knees, looking up to the sky as if accepting an invitation from the gates of heaven.

“Well. That could have gone… Worse.” Nathan said simply. “I was kind of hoping to keep Gilgamesh since that would have made cleaning up the round table easier, but taking out Hijikata is good enough.”

“I am sorry for betraying your trust sir,” Okita Alter said, kneeling respectfully at the man’s side.

Midoriya could feel tears welling up in his eyes. How could Nathan witness so much death so casually. He was only focused on how each unit could help in his next conflict rather than the fact that people were dying right in front of him.

Hijikata pushed himself up off the ground.

“Ok well, I’ll head to one of the out of play areas then. I appreciate the opportunity to cut loose so thank you for allowing us our silliness.”

“Fufufu yes it is quite enjoyable,” Carmilla added.

“I will make you pay for your transgressions on this day, mongrel.” Gilgamesh said bitterly as he stood.

“Sure you will goldy.”

Oh right they were fighting a nerf war.

Midoriya shook his head in an attempt to return to some kind of reality.

“Okita are you alive still?” Hijikata asked, approaching the downed saber.

She gave him a thumbs up but otherwise did not move.

“Alright up you go.” He said hoisting her over his shoulder before walking away with the other two noncombatants.

Midoriya wanted to stop them just to talk about their quirks and pro hero life but Nathan was already moving.

“Gramps. What’s the status of the rest of our group?”

Somehow.

Despite wearing full plate armor

And being somewhere around 220 cm tall.

That man clad in blue fire and skulls completely snuck up on him.

Midoriya screamed as he jumped behind Nathan.

“Y-You ok Midoriya?”

“Y-y-y-yes! I’m fine!” He nodded rapidly, perhaps in an attempt to shake the fear out of his head.

“We hath suffered no casualties. Dost thou remember the rendezvous point, my contractor?”

“Yeah, rec room, let’s start heading that way then. With any luck we’ll be able to recruit a couple of extras on the way.”

“Aye.”

Midoriya blinked and that behemoth was gone.

A lot of Chaldeans had teleporting quirks apparently. Maybe that’s how they responded so quickly to emergency calls.

“Ah, there you are Nathan.”

Midoriya’s eyes fell on a heavily dressed woman with long white hair. She looked like some kind of princess.

“Hi Anastasia,” Nathan said as he leveled his nerf gun at her, “Friend or foe?”

“Friend, friend. Viy tells me your numbers are quite small so it would be cruel to play tricks on you. It looks like you’ve even called for outside help fufufu.”

Midoriya blushed as her attention fell on him.

“Happy to have you aboard. Shall we?” He said as he lowered his gun.

“Do I not get a proper royal escort?”

Nathan rolled his eye as he hooked his right arm with her left. She made it a point to look back at Midoriya and Okita Alter with a devilish grin on her face.

Despite Anastasia’s best efforts, they arrived at the rec room without incident. It was a much larger room than Midoriya had been expecting, filled with pool tables, arcade cabinets, and many other carnival games.

He’d seen the map but it did a poor job of showing how massive this facility truly was. How had it been established in such a short amount of time?

“Status report,” Nathan said pulling out the large map scroll from somewhere and spreading it over one of the pool tables.

“There’s been some unrest in the cafeteria. The saints arrived and made a big ol mess of things. The writers are all down thankfully, but the actual numbers in the cafeteria are larger now.” Yan Qing said, laying out the miniatures, “But since it is almost lunch we could just run in, take as many of them out as we can, and call for time out before they can retaliate.”

“Underhanded but I suppose against these odds it is the best we can hope for,” Karna said quietly.

“And the Nobu squad?”

“Destroyed itself, the only one still around is Kagetora and Avenger Nobunaga.”

“Mh. Problematic but we can probably grab Kagetora. How’re the deities doing Ereshkigal?”

“Almost completely wiped themselves out. I impersonated Ishtar and said a few colorful remarks,” She said with a proud smile.

Midoriya just watched in amazement as they continued on, updating their map as they spoke of the intel they’d received.

It was too much for him to keep up with.

“Art thou feeling under the weather young one?”

Once again this so called Gramps startled the everloving hell out of him, but Midoriya was starting to get used to him suddenly popping up.

“Y-Yeah! It’s just a lot to take in at once you know!”

The man nodded. “The hour approaches, shall we ring the evening bell?”

“Right. Let’s get this battle started! Then we can call for lunch!”

\---

Midoriya stood alongside Ereshkigal and The Count.

He wasn’t sure why he’d chosen to separate from Nathan considering he now had two extremely difficult options for conversation partners.

One of them seemed to have a barely repressed disdain for his existence. His hatred seeped from him almost visually as if he was physically made from that emotion.

The other one was a cute girl.

“Just remember not to go too wild Count.”

“Oh I won’t…” he said in a tone of voice that indicated he very much did not mean what he was saying. “I’ll just take out those damn rulers. They can take their salvation and go back home!”

A dart whizzed through the air and struck a white haired man with a large sword in the back of the head.

“Sanson no!!!” A woman with a large pumpkin hat shouted as the group began to mobilize.

Ice flowered out across the floor, freezing a few of the heroes in place before they could react in time.

Edmond was out in a flash firing his rifle and striking a tanned man with white hair in the head before fading into the darkness of his own shadow.

“That was Edmond wasn’t it!? Nathan is here!” An androginous person wearing a purple hat shouted before that purple hat was shot off their head.

“Hooooooh! Motzart!” A man clad in a striped black suit turned and fired on one of his own, taking him out as the kitchen erupted into chaos.

“Give me thine head.”

Gramps appeared directly behind a purple haired woman and shot her straight in the head.

Another dart flew out from the doorway and struck a man with bronze armor straight in the head.

“Alright. It’s our turn human!” Ereshkigal darted out, firing and missing her target, “W-w-w-w-wait! Let me!”

The blond woman she’d fired on didn’t even let her finish her sentence before shooting her in the head.

This proved to be the perfect distraction for Midoriya to hop out, taking out the woman who had defeated Ereshkigal. 

The sound of electricity crackling reached Midoriya’s ears as Nathan dropped from the ceiling, firing his pistol at the woman with the pumpkin hat.

His aim was impeccable despite his lack of depth perception. Did that gun have some kind of aim assist? Was that what that glowing blue ring was?

“Alright Salieri. You with us? Truly?”

“Ooooh! Salieri!? That’s… That’s not my-”

“Yan Qing!”

“Nothin personal buddy.” Yan Qing appeared from the shadows behind that raving man and shot him in the back of the head at point blank range.

Okita Alter and Anastasia emerged from the main doors to the cafeteria each carrying large nerf rifles.

“Is that all of them?”

“Looks like. The cafeteria is ours!” Nathan called out, “Time for lunch.”

\---

The cafeteria filled with heroes as word of the ceasefire spread.

Midoriya’s mental notes had overflowed from the sheer number of them present. There were easily a couple of hundred people milling about in groups just casually chatting with each other.

To think Chaldea had this many heroes at its disposal.

Granted they protected the entire country but still…

There was a difference between theorizing about them and actually seeing their scale for himself.

“So what do you think?” Nathan asked casually from his place across from Midoriya.

“It’s so much. I want to interview everyone here and find out about their quirks and… Just everything about them!” He said excitedly.

The Count raised an eyebrow before giving a hearty laugh, “My my. It would seem you two are compatible in a fair number of ways.”

Midoriya looked at him, expression shrouded in confusion.

He was the second Chaldean that had compared him to Nathan favorably.

What were they seeing that he wasn’t?

“I’m sure they would enjoy someone new to talk to but it will take a while. There are a lot of them…” A nervous chuckle followed those words.

“D-Do any of you mind if I ask about your quirks?” Midoriya muttered. It was the one surefire way he knew he could keep a conversation going with strangers he barely knew.

“I don’t see why not. Why don’t you get started Count?”

“Hm?”

“You did use it on him before. And you’ll have to use it on him again to take him home.”

“Ah yes. Very well. My quirk allows me to escape anything,” Edmond Dantes said with a theatrical flare, “A bad situation, a locked room, nothing is outside of my quirk. Even, as you experienced, time and space are targets for my quirk.”

What?

A quirk that allowed him to simply “escape” that could be applied to anything.

It was a truly ludicrous ability. It almost didn’t even sound like a quirk it was so strong.

Midoriya’s mind boggled at the possible applications. 

He opened his mouth to question further before being interrupted.

“Hello everyone!” A man clad in a long white robe with long white hair approached the group. 

“Hey Merlin,”

“Ah I see the prodigal child Midoriya Izuku has joined us today. How are you adjusting to the wild world of Chaldea?” That flowery man said, giving the aforementioned boy a pat on the head.

When had Midoriya’s name become something everyone in Chaldea seemed to already know?

It was flattering but also worrying.

“It’s really amazing! I’m glad Nathan gave me the opportunity to come here!”

“Hm hm hm! Excellent!” Merlin took the seat on Midoriya’s other side. “Good good! Before you ask, my quirk is clairvoyance! The entirety of the present is an open book to me!”

Another ridiculous quirk to add to the pile. Exactly how far did the “entirety of the present” reach? Was it truly the whole world? How could one man even process that much information without going insane.

“Some would argue that he’s quite insane to begin with,” Ereshkigal said offhandedly.

Oh God he’d been muttering.

“I- I’m sorry!” He bowed his head.

Merlin burst out laughing, “My my quite the timid one. I distinctly remember a time where someone else at this table acted much the same way!”

Midoriya looked up.

Right at Nathan.

That overwhelming smile was on his face.

“I still have my moments I think,” He said serenely.

“Grubs up!” A voice from the kitchen called out.

“Yes good,” Anastasia said from her place at Nathan’s side.

How that boy could handle two beautiful women sitting so close to him was beyond Midoriya.

Large plates of food, the likes of which he’d never seen slid across the table.

A muscular man wearing a sleeveless black shirt passed by as he distributed more plates of food.

No. That was armor wasn’t it?

Also what was with Chaldea and white hair? It was surprisingly common as far as he’d seen.

“I hope it’s to your liking. I wasn’t sure what to make for you Midoriya Izuku so I just threw together a little smattering of everything.”

“It’s EMIYA food I’m sure he’ll like it,” Ereshkigal said under her breath as she began stacking her plate.

The smell was certainly divine.

Midoriya took one bite from the plate of curry he’d picked out and was completely lost.

Was that still even a food? How could it be when it was clearly constructed of pure flavors the likes of which he’d never experienced.

“Is this what you eat every day!?” Midoriya called out, snapping himself away from his thoughts.

“Boudica, Tamacat, and Beni cook too, but mostly yes.”

To be able to enjoy food that transcended his normal sense of quality every day…

He wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t jealous but…

Nathan had lost half of his limbs, an eye, and was covered in scars.

He had combat and strategic abilities that were far outside what he should have at their age.

Midoriya could only guess at why he’d developed the skills he had, but every guess came to something terrible happening to him. Perhaps being able to enjoy meals like this every day was a fitting reward.

And so they ate together. The massive swirl of chaldeans that filled the room seemed to all spiral inward towards Nathan at one point or another, each of them checking in on him to make sure he was doing ok after yesterday.

Midoriya had never quite seen anything like it. Over 100 pro heroes doting on one boy.

How had he reached this point?

“What was it like? Traveling with chaldea for so many years?”

“A lot.” Nathan said simply, “It was a rough time that’s for sure but we all made it through together. It got easier as our ranks swelled but only barely.”

Midoriya struggled to imagine a threat that could make some of the pros he’d been introduced to sweat.

Karna’s quirk “Aspect of the Sun” was especially egregious. He had to be at least as strong as Endeavor, if not more so. His quirk simply had none of the downsides Endeavor’s did.

“It may be hard to imagine as we are now, but our foes were quite mighty. They make for excellent tales that we dare not tell,” Merlin said in a sing song tone, “Not yet anyway. There will be a time and a place for us to play all of our cards.”

If there was one thing Midoriya had learned from Merlin it was that seeing all of the present allowed him to make fairly accurate predictions of the future.

Also that that ability made Merlin mildly insufferable to the rest of Chaldea.

Except for Nathan who, in his experience, unconditionally accepted everyone. He’d even offered his hand to those villains yesterday.

“Well? How was it?” EMIYA asked, approaching Midoriya from behind.

“It was really really good! Thank you so much for the food sir!”

“Hah, glad you liked it. Hopefully Nathan didn’t try to hog it all for himself too much.”

“Midoriya’s plate was too far for me to reach,” Nathan said, “Otherwise it would have been mine…”

It was Midoriya’s turn to laugh. Somehow despite being surrounded by dozens of pro heroes he knew nothing about he had managed to relax.

He was getting used to the strange air this facility held. 

After lunch Nathan’s faction tripled in size. Apparently a lot of the groups that had been mostly destroyed as well as a few outliers had used the break to get close enough to Nathan to join him.

As such Midoriya found himself with a completely new group.

Again he’d elected to separate from Nathan. 

His squadron was five strong including himself. Two of them were children of around twelve if he had to guess.

Another was an extremely loud person in every sense of the word. They wore elaborate clothing and had a shawl of what looked like pure mercury hovering around them. Probably something to do with their quirk.

The last member was a green catgirl who spent most of her time doting over him and the two children.

“Umu… So we’re heading off the Celt-Pirate alliance yes?” The loud moth shaped person known as Shi Huang Di asked.

“Yes. Orders are to make sure they don’t meet up with the rest of the Greeks…” Midoriya said in response.

“Atalanta. Remind Us. Why are you not with the Greeks?”

The cat girl just shot Them a glare.

“Someone has to watch over the children. If Abigail, Voyager, and Midoriya wish to accompany you then someone sensible needs to supervise them.”

“Hoho! The word sensible is doing a lot of work there is it not?”

They just laughed while Abigail hoisted up her oversized nerf gun.

“Lets go play mister!” she said, tugging on Midoriya’s shirt.

“O-oh! Of course!” 

“It is very fun to play these games. Running around all of Chaldea and meeting all of the friends I’ve made while here again in a new way.” The small blond child, apparently Voyager, said.

As they stalked the halls a question came to Midoriya’s mind.

“Why does Chaldea have children here?”

He could understand that Nathan was a statistical anomaly. But there had to have been at least a dozen kids at lunch that were younger than him, and several people that looked to be their age.

“Mh. If We had to say one way or another… They do not have anywhere else to go. We do not deploy them, naturally, but their quirks are simply too unruly to entrust them with standard orphanages.” Shi Huang Di said absentmindedly as the mercury swirling around Them formed itself into a series of nerf guns. They pulled out a handful of darts and just pushed them lazily into those liquid rifles.

“We do what we can to take care of them. There are a lot of heroes on staff like me that love children and we dedicate a large amount of time to keeping them happy,” Atalanta filled in, “We’ve tried everything we could think of but at the end of the day, keeping them here is for the best.”

“Yeah! Plus we really like Chaldea! They let us play and have fun and they don’t punish us if we don’t keep our rooms clean all the time!” Abigail said excitedly.

Ah. To grow up in a secret organization… He supposed Nathan had done much the same thing. Hadn’t he mentioned it had been five years since he’d been taken in?

Midoriya wasn’t sure how he felt about that but there were several heroes around that had enough mom-like qualities that he was sure it was fine at some level.

“Hoh. It would seem that the Celts have split off. The pirates are mostly routed. Come. We shall help Ourselves to the remainder!”

Shi Huang Di advanced into the next room, opening fire and forcing the three pirates remaining inside to duck behind a table.

“Open!” Abigail called out. A tiny gate appeared before her rifle which she immediately fired a shot through.

“Ack! Really!?” The smaller of the two women came out from behind the table with their hands up, “I’m out.”

“You’ll pay for that!” A busty blond popped up only to immediately get shot in the head by one of Atalanta’s nerf arrows.

“Guh. Wait! Wait! I surrender! I surrender!” A man with a spear and green vestments said as he stuck his head out of cover, “Please have some mercy! I’m too old for this kind of-”

“No.” Voyager said, shooting him in the heart without any hesitation. “We win! Do you think Nathan will be happy with us?”

“OF COURSE! The pirates have been routed! Come! Let Us continue on Our hunt!”

\---

As the evening went on Midoriya’s group tore through another two factions, only losing Atalanta during a pitched battle against the Celts. 

Shortly after they finished cleaning up the remains of the Nobunaga faction an announcement sounded through Chaldea’s PA system.

“The Nerf War has concluded! The Nathan-Midoriya Faction has come out victorious! Everyone please report to the cafeteria!”

“Ah. Such a trivial matter. It’s only natural We should come out on top,” Shi Huang Di said with a triumphant air.

“I’m just glad I managed to stay in play all day… I thought for sure I was going to get taken out when the Celts ambushed us…” Midoriya said. He was utterly exhausted. He’d been swept up in how serious the Chaldeans took this game causing him to truly go all out in response. 

“Good job Izuku!” Abigail and Voyager added with a smile.

“Thanks! You two did well too!”

Abigail’s quirk, as he’d come to understand it, allowed her to open “Gates” which sounded vague and unhelpful, but she’d demonstrated that there was absolutely no limit to what those gates could contain or where they could lead. It was as if she could twist space and time itself.

There was definitely some merit in the assertion that these children would be too much for normal orphanages to handle…

“Um. Emperor- I mean… Shi Huang Di! Um- I was wondering something else.”

“Ask and We shall answer to the best of Our abilities young friend of Nathan!”

“Why… Why do you all stay at Chaldea and constantly use your Hero names? Don’t you have lives outside of here?”

Not once had he seen anyone break character. This facility was certainly big enough to accommodate all of these heroes, but why were they here exactly? Did they not have families to go back to? Normal lives to live?

“Hm. Simple. We have all chosen to stay by the Master of Chaldea no matter what. As long as they live We will never abandon them. As such. Our hero identities… They are Us. We have chosen to throw everything else away in order to follow in their footsteps.”

Midoriya’s eyes widened.

What kind of person could command that level of loyalty?

The Master of Chaldea was spoken of in hushed tones by several of the heroes but Midoriya had never seen them, nor heard anything that could help him identify them. Even Nathan, who he’d known for a while at this point, had never mentioned them.

“What kind of person are they?”

“Master is really nice! They saved us!” Abigail said.

“They saved us too. Gave us the ability to travel with them. To experience things like we’ve never been able to before…” Voyager added.

“They are a scion of humanity. That much is certain. But they are a normal person. Their strength comes from their bonds with all of Us, and the ability to make those bonds with others. They called on Us for help and We gladly answered.”

Midoriya wished beyond anything that he’d be allowed to meet this mysterious Master of Chaldea one day. Just to see exactly what kind of hero could draw so many to their side…

“Oh, hey Midoriya,” Nathan said as their groups met back up in the cafeteria, “I guess everything went alright since we won and all. Nice work man. I knew it was a good call to bring you into this!”

“Ah. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity Relnor-san! I had a lot of fun today!”

“You look like you’re about to pass out on your feet kid. Why don’t you settle in for dinner then we can send you home,” Yang Qin spoke with a large grin.

Midoriya wouldn’t protest his words out loud. As much as he wanted to stay and keep talking with the Chaldeans he knew he was at his limit. After yesterday this was a lot to do in a day. 

He had no idea how Nathan managed to look so refreshed after all of that…

After eating Midoriya said his goodbyes to the collected pro heroes.

Another trip to the space between spaces took him back home with a bento box a small bird like girl had given him for his mother.

“Oh!” She gasped upon his return, “You made it back! I was starting to wonder if you were going to spend the night!”

“I thought about it but they insisted that I get some rest in my own home after yesterday!” Midoriya said with a smile. “Have you had dinner?”

“I was just about to start making it. Do you need anything?”

“No no, I ate while I was there. Here!” He presented the beautifully wrapped box, “They made it for you as a present for letting me come over!”

“Oh how lovely of them! You’ll have to thank Relnor for me tomorrow!”

“I will!”

But for now he had enough information swirling around in his head to fill at least three notebooks that he needed to get down before the details started growing fuzzy.

\---

Sherlock received another phonecall from UA. They were becoming quite common following USJ. He was glad they were concerned but they were starting to give him a headache.

Their subject was singular.

Nathan Relnor.

His response to that villain attack had been at the level of a high ranking pro hero.

They wanted to know how he was capable of such a feat.

But simply telling them the truth, that Nathan had overcome far far greater trials just to ensure the world could be what it is today, was out of the question.

So he would be evasive in his own way. He was sure it was irritating but he had little other recourse.

“Aizawa-kun, what is it this time?” Sherlock asked.

“I’m holding Nathan in late after school tomorrow. We have things to discuss about his behavior yesterday.”

“Very well, tell him to call us when he’s ready to be picked up.”

Aizawa gave a noncommittal grunt before continuing.

“Listen. I just want to help him. So please. I need to know what happened to him. What gave him that kind of experience? What gave him those reflexes? What made him so unafraid?”

“I’m sure if you ask him he will tell you that he was entirely motivated by fear. The fear of others being hurt sure but regardless, we’ve been over this quite a few times my good sir. Nathan’s experiences since he joined Chaldea are still as top secret as the last time you called me. I am sorry, I know it’s frustrating, but we cannot divulge anything that would endanger the Master of Chaldea.”

There was a pause at the other end.

“So you’re willing to throw a child under the bus just to protect your boss?”

“If I am presented with no other options then yes. I will do whatever it takes.”

“You can’t operate like that. No matter how much good you do… He’s still a child.”

“As you’ve said many times before. Now, if there isn’t anything else I really must be going.”

Aizawa hung up without another word.

Sherlock was glad.

Nathan had all the support he could ask for and more here at Chaldea. But the unique relationship he had with all of the heroic spirits here prevented him from truly appreciating their concern for his well being.

So to have a human who did not depend on him for their continued existence express that concern?

“That will do wonders I think…” He said aloud to that empty room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did! I figured I should maybe throw in a more Fate focused chapter for once since I've been mostly on the MHA side of this crossover. Who knows. Maybe Midoriya will start putting two and two together at some point! For now thanks for reading! Have a good week!


	8. Preparation (To step onto the stage)(for the burden of being known)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday, have an update. Hope everyone is managing ok! Glad everyone enjoyed the nerf war as much as I did. I'll have to have another interlude chapter like that at some point! There are just so many Servants I want to feature! 
> 
> We're back on track after having a bit of a detour with USJ and Chaldea so I hope you know what that means!

Returning to school was certainly an interesting experience. Iida took place at the head of the class preparing everyone for home room and demanding that the already seated students be in their seats.

It was comical but after waging war for a good 8 hours yesterday Nathan could use the break.

Not that he ever caught one.

Aizawa entered none the worse for wear despite USJ. The damage to his elbow must not have been extensive enough to require too much treatment.

“Aizawa sensei! You’re ok!” Mina called out.

“Yes. I’m fine. But you shouldn’t be worrying about me. Your battle is far from over.”

Tension gripped the class.

Was it villains again?

Or.

“UA’s sports festival is approaching”

Sometimes even Nathan forgot this was supposed to be a school.

He wondered if this would be something similar to the Nero festivals he was used to?

There were a few protests about villains but Aizawa reassured them that there were numerous measures going into place to protect the festival. It was such a large event that no expenses were being spared.

Apparently UA’s sports festival was something akin to the olympics in terms of wide appeal.

“It’s an opportunity for you all. The country’s top heroes will all be watching,” Aizawa explained.

It was to further their careers. Nathan understood it at a base level, do well and get scouted by the highest level pro hero you can. But.

It felt off to him.

He simply could not picture himself in a hero organization other than chaldea. That part of his future was already sealed.

But this whole charade of taking part in UA was to push him further and further into the human world.

His instincts told him he was a magus and that he should keep a low profile to avoid scrutiny.

But was that what he actually wanted?

His fellow students muttered about joining various squads as sidekicks to pro heroes.

“Remember your time is limited. This is a once a year event so you only have three chances at this. The better work experience you can gather in that time the better off your future prospects will be.”

How long would Chaldea even be able to stay in Japan?

They had come here for a  _ specific reason  _ after all. Who was to say they would stay behind once that reason was resolved? Would they stay because he wanted to? Or would they have to leave because another incident halfway across the world needed their attention?

The path forward had always been the scariest thing he’d ever faced.

It was easier when the world was ending and he had a clear goal.

But now that that weight was gone he was struggling.

If he could do what he wanted…

What did he even want anymore?

His previous ambitions had been lost with the rest of his past.

“You ok Relnor-san?” Yaoyorozu asked, “You’re mumbling.”

“Ah sorry. I’m just thinking…” He said, snapping from his doldrums quickly, “Must have picked that habit up from somewhere,” He said with a not so subtle glance forward.

\---

The excitement for an event that was two weeks away was palpable.

Lunch had arrived and a full half of the class were caught up in a great heat.

Nathan smiled.

This is what he’d fought for. Humans who reached for their dreams like this were what drove him forward even when he-

“Man. Everyone’s getting really excited huh?” Midoriya spoke, snapping Nathan out of a train of thought that was about to rapidly spiral downward.

“Yeah. It’s nice. Are you not excited too Midoriya?”

“I am but-”

“You have reached the stage of UA! Getting fired up is only natural!” Iida said, his entire body rumbling with excitement.

“Figures you would be able to contain yourself,” Asui approached the three from the side.

Their gazes fell on Nathan.

“Yeah not a lot phases me nowadays,” He said casually.

“I’ll say.”

“Iida, Midoriya, Relnor…” A voice came from next to them. Uraraka held her face down and her entire body radiated tension.

“Let’s crush the sports festival.”

It was a level of determination he didn’t often see without murderous intent behind it. Out of the four of them Nathan was the only one who did not respond with some kind of apprehension.

Instead he met her determination with a smile.

“Of course!”   


“LETS GO FOR IT” She screamed, riling up the class even further.

Once she settled down the four of them parted ways with Asui and made their way towards the cafeteria.

“Oh. Uraraka-san,” Midoriya spoke up, “I was wondering. Why do you want to become a hero?”

“Ehehe… It’s not a terribly noble reason… I um… Promise you won’t think less of me!”

“A bad reason to become a hero does not exist,” Nathan said simply, “As long as your desire pushes you to risk yourself to save others it doesn’t matter what it is.”

The three of them looked at him for a moment of quiet contemplation.

“W-wow… I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone put it like that. Alright! I’m in it for the money!” Uraraka said with a new sense of pride.

“Eh!?” Iida and Midoriya shouted.

“Ah I see,” Nathan nodded. He supposed that made sense. Hero work was a career in this world.

“I know it’s not as pure a reason as Iida or Midoriya… But… I’m going to become a Pro Hero. I am going to earn enough money to give my parents the easy life they deserve.”

Her resolve was something of beauty.

She would fit right in with many of history’s greatest heroes.

He nodded approvingly.

“There is absolutely no shame in that resolve. Hold your head high and push forward towards your future. It is already in your grasp.”

The moment was broken somewhat when All might rounded a corner shouting, “Ah there you are! Midoriya my boy! Would you care to eat lunch with me?”

The scene before him did not match his image of reality. It was like there was a gear missing somewhere.

“Oh- Ok! Sure!” Midoriya said with a nod before the two of them parted with the group.

“What just happened?” Uraraka asked numbly after they were out of sight.

“I don’t know and I think that’s for the best. Sometimes the correct answer to a cracked door leading to forbidden knowledge is to just slam it shut and move on with your life,” Nathan said without missing a beat.

“Wise words indeed.” Iida nodded, “Although I am curious now. Relnor-san. Why do you want to be a hero?”

“Yeah! I just poured my heart out! Let us hear it!”

Nathan looked at his two friends and held out his hands. He clenched his glove covered left hand and his scaled right hand.

He gave an answer that did not match the smile on his face.

“I don’t know! If I had to give a reason… I guess I want to catch up to the people who saved me.”

\---

All Might wanted him to debut at the sports festival. But Midoriya was struggling. His feelings were all over the place and his resolve was unnaturally shaken.

He nodded to All Might’s words reminding him that there was a difference between those who aimed for the top and those who didn’t.

“I do have one more question All Might. Have you ever… Been to Chaldea?”

All Might perked up. Midoriya was a hero nerd so it wasn’t out of the ordinary to know and be curious about Chaldea.

But.

“No my boy. They’re a secretive organization by nature. I’ve worked with a few of their heroes but beyond that interaction I know very little.”

He recalled a conversation that he’d had with Nezu.

If someone came out and asked about Nathan’s connection to Chaldea he was to tell the truth, but he should never lead the conversation that way.

But wasn’t Midoriya one of Nathan’s close friends?

“I went there yesterday,”

All Might coughed up blood.

“What!?”

“Nathan invited me over. I think he was trying to help me unwind but it was a lot to take in.”

To All Might’s knowledge only principle Nezu and a board chairman of the hero public safety commission had been allowed inside until now. There was no doubt in his mind that Midoriya had seen the true heart of their organization given the unofficial nature of his visit. If that was the case then it was Midoriya Izuku that knew the most about Chaldea out of any pro hero...

“What did you think?” All Might asked. 

“It was amazing! There were so many different heroes all working together! Caring for each other! But... There were a lot of things about it that were off. It’s not structured like any normal hero organization I’ve ever seen...”

It was nebulous and hard to describe. But Chaldea was not a hero organization. They cared for children who had nowhere to go. They gave up their lives to follow their leader. If it was being described to him he would think there was something sinister going on but having been there…

It was clear that their leader believed in doing good. If all of those contrasting heroes followed them then Chaldea was undoubtedly a grand force for justice. But he was not sure where Nathan fit into that equation. Those Chaldeans swirled around him like a protective mob. More than a dozen of them had declared that they’d gladly give their life if Nathan asked them to. 

How had he gotten there? How had he reached their hearts? 

He needed to know. But he did not want to pain his friend by forcing an answer out of him.

“Do you know what happened to Nathan?”

All Might’s brow furrowed.

“I’ve been briefed with the same information all of the other teachers have received.”

Aizawa was looking deeper into things for his own reasons, but the person Midoriya should be asking was Nathan himself.

“My boy. It’s best to confront these kinds of things directly.”

“Right…”

\---

The rest of the day passed gently. Once again, the hardest thing Nathan had done this week was slow down enough to consider modern literature.

At least they weren’t studying the classics. He had a feeling Shakespere would simply be able to sense a bad interpretation of his work from a distance.

A brief image of that caster breaking down 1-A’s door to give a screed on the nature of his tragedies flashed in Nathan’s mind.

“Relnor.” Aizawa snapped him from his doldrums, “Stay after class. We have some things to discuss.

“Ooooooh Relnor’s in trouble!” Kaminari said playfully.

“Of course he is, don't you remember USJ?”

Ah. So it was time for that then.

Nathan simply nodded.

Mentally he steeled himself for what was to come.

This process was interrupted when Uraraka opened the doors to see a gaggle of students gathered outside their classroom.

They were scoping out the competition.

He had this thought at the same time Bakugo said it out loud which worried him considerably.

1-A put its best foot forward.

Bakugo immediately insulted everyone in the hallway.

1-A needed a better best foot.

A student with purple hair stepped to the front of the crowd, accepting Bakugo’s challenge.

The sports festival was not only an opportunity for pro heroes to scout students in the hero course. Depending on how well they did, students who failed the hero application could potentially be shuffled around.

Was that the only recourse they had?

That boy’s determination was nearly bloodthirsty.

Everyone was rising up and declaring that they would do their absolute best come the sports festival.

But Nathan was simply trying to think of ways to hold back.

It made it difficult for him to get as excited as everyone else.

Midoriya watched Bakugo ruthlessly antagonize everyone in his way as he reached for the very top. He was gunning for the number one spot with everything he had.

From his place behind him, Nathan saw the exact moment Midoriya found his resolve.

He just wished it was that easy for him.

The other students filtered out as Nathan stood by, waiting for the inevitable.

“I’ve spoken with Chaldea about holding you back today. They said to just call when we’re done,” Aizawa said flatly as he pulled the seat next to Nathan out and sat.

“Ah. That’s good. Thank you Aizawa-sensei,”

It was a small relief but it was still a relief.

“What was going through your head when you jumped in?” Aizawa asked plainly.

“I wanted to make sure nobody got hurt because of my mistake so mostly guilt,” Nathan answered readily, “I love all of you and I don’t want any of you to get hurt, especially when it’s my error putting you in danger.”

Love was a strong word, but Aizawa had seen that smile.

“Why do you think I jumped in?”

“... Because you’re a pro hero and you wanted to protect us?”

“That’s right.... Do you have any idea… How terrifying it was to see you jump into the middle of those villains?”

Those words struck Nathan straight through the heart. They carried an immeasurable weight that trapped him in place.

Was…

Was that what he felt?

Was that what he wanted people to feel when he jumped into action?

“I already know the type of hero you are. You’ll jump in anywhere as long as it means you can save someone. It’s an admirable quality to have. That willingness to leap into danger is what separates the top level from everyone else.”

Aizawa’s capture weapon wrapped tightly around Nathan’s head.

“But. You. Are. A. Student. Chaldea won’t tell me what you’ve been through. They won’t tell me why you have the skills and experience you very clearly have. I have nothing to go on when it comes to your history. But. Your present is another matter.”

The cloth loosened as Aizawa continued.

“Ask first next time.”

“What?”

“You do not even have a provisional license. You could get into serious trouble if you jump into random villain fights out in the open. That’s vigilantism, not heroics. So the next time there’s danger, do not act until you have received authorization, is that clear?”

He would not stop him. He wasn’t sure he could. His best option was to turn Nathan Relnor into a known quantity that would react in expected ways to danger..

“I see,” Nathan said as the cloth released his head, “Yes. I promise. I will seek permission before engaging in a villain fight next time…”

“I would like you to not engage at all until you’re fully trained but that feels somewhat at odds with what I saw at USJ.”

Yes. Nathan was already near the peak of his capabilities. Reflexes like that were not natural. Being able to shrug off killing intent like that was not natural. Those instincts that pushed him towards rather than pulling him back from a powerful enemy were not natural.

They were trained. His movements were tight and disciplined. Watching the fight back from the security footage had only cemented that.

Nathan Relnor could already fight at the level of a Pro Hero. It was questionable if he could even develop his quirk further than he already had.

So Aizawa’s focus had to shift.

Nathan did not need to learn how to fight.

He needed to learn the opposite.

Aizawa stood up.

“Alright. You’re free to go. Oh. One more thing. You will be expected to speak at the Sports Festival.”

Nathan tilted his head to the side, “Why?”

“You scored the highest on the heroics entrance exam.”

He really really should have held back during that thing. Public speaking was not something he was entirely a stranger to. The Chaldeans needed a good motivational speech every now and then. And sometimes an enemy was a friend that hadn’t received a stern talking to yet. But… Speaking on live TV in front of that big of an audience?

“I… I understand,” Nathan said hesitantly. The scant amount of actual magus training he’d received told him to avoid a venue that big but…

Was that the right thing for him to do as a person?

With that he departed the classroom. The halls had cleared somewhat so it was a little easier for him than it was the others.

“Hey.”

Nathan turned and locked eyes with that tall purple haired kid who had declared war on the whole class.

“You’re the top dog aren’t you? Don’t have much of a bark huh?”

“Not really. I tend to bite before I have time to think about barking,” Nathan said with a chuckle, “Top dog huh? Is that how other people see me?”

Shinsou stared at the boy as if he’d been punched in the face.

Something was very very wrong.

Had he been so unaffected that he hadn’t even noticed?

He was here to pick a fight and he’d gone all out in using his quirk.

But this guy hadn’t even noticed?

“You’re kidding. It doesn’t work on you?”

“What?” Nathan tilted his head to the side.

He tried again but the result was the same. It was like he couldn’t properly target the boy even though he was fulfilling all of the right conditions.

“Are you ok?”

“What kind of monsters do they have in 1-A? Honestly…” Shinsou said with a sigh of defeat. He looked at that boy who presented a now even larger stumbling block than he had before. “Name’s Shinso Hitoshi. I’m the one who’s gonna knock your class down a peg or two.”

“Relnor Nathan, I wish you all the best,” He said with that signature overpowering smile of his.

Shinso just sneered at him and turned to leave. Just how unfair could things get? He had to wonder why Nathan was immune to his quirk. What was it about him that set him apart from everyone else?

Nathan walked away without even really registering what Shinso was on about. He’d gained a new rival but that seemed to be an increasingly common occurrence the more he attended UA. As he made his way out he made sure to call Chaldea and let them know he was on his way out.

He ran into a group of students he recognized near the front gates.

“Oh! Hey Relnor-san! How’s our kouhai doing today?” 

It occurred to him that it was fairly surreal to finally be called kouhai after Mashu insisted on calling him the opposite for five years straight.

“Togata-senpai, Hado-senpai, Amajiki-senpai,” Nathan said, greeting the three of them in turn.

“Hey! Hey! Hey! Running late today? Did you get in trouble? I heard you all ran into villains at USJ! Was it scary? Did you get hurt? Did you fight any villains?”

“Yes, Yes, not the worst thing I’ve been through, a little, and yes,” Nathan rattled off the answers in order.

“Oh. A trooper eh? To be expected from the top scorer in the entrance exam. Can’t wait to see your speech at the sports festival!” Mirio said proudly.

Nathan’s expression dropped at the mention of the speech. It had been less than an hour since he learned he even needed to make one but it was quickly becoming his primary concern in regards to preparing for the sports festival.

“Ah. You too huh?” Amajiki said with a nod of solidarity.

“I just don’t really have any idea what to say.”

“Just get everyone fired up! Like Fwoosh! Something that makes them give 110%! Plus Ultra!” Nejire said excitedly.

Nathan tilted his head to the side.

Just fire them up?

That he was good at. That could do.

He nodded.

“I see. Thank you for the advice Hado-senpai.”

“That’s what I like to see! You heading to the station or-”

It came crashing down from the sky. In a streak of golden light she arrived.

_ “Rellllllnor!!! The most beautiful goddess has arrived to pick you up from school!” _

“No,” Nathan said with a sigh.

The four of them reached the gate and found Ishtar standing atop her vehicle of choice, the Boat of Heaven Maanna.

“Well that’s my ride. Thank you very much for your help all of you. I hope to provide an excellent show at the sports festival!” He stopped to give them a bow. With the proper focus they’d provided him suddenly that speech wasn’t nearly as terrifying.

Nejire for her part had a million and one questions about Ishtar.

Nathan decided that it probably wasn’t in his best interests to answer any of them.

He hopped aboard the Maanna and the two took off, Ishtar cackling all the while.

\---

With two weeks to prepare, Nathan was unsure of what to actually do.

School was progressing calmly which was driving him mildly insane.

He decided that upping his sparring schedule with Heroic Spirits was probably his best bet. It induced the small amount of extra chaos into his life that he was missing on top of the obvious benefit of more practice.

They used the simulator to scale his opponents down to a more human level in order to help him adjust to fighting opponents he was not allowed to kill.

He’d spent so long trying to fight things so far beyond him that quirk had become excessively lethal when dealing with normal humans.

“Long engagements are your weakest point.” Sigurd said after their session that day. “You’re no stranger to having to fight all day but without Chaldea’s support it will be quite a bit more difficult than you realize.”

“Mh. Hopefully it will be just as exhausting for everyone else.”

“Likely, but it is best not to rely on your opponent to have deficiencies. As for your matchups. The most difficult will be that Todoroki boy in all likelihood. If you are going to rely on Stun Gun Style approaching him will be problematic.”

Yes. Nathan Relnor was an existence that had been honed against opponents that exceeded the limits of humans. To fight at his best was simply not an option for a friendly competition between his fellow students.

He could not become a murderer in front of the entire nation.

“It is also ill advised to use magecraft of any kind during the competition. With so many eyes on you it is possible a couple of them will realize what you are doing. That includes reinforcement.”

Nathan wanted to protest but it was difficult when Sigurd’s point was so solid. Besides…

“I don’t know if I’m ok using magecraft against my friends… It’s kind of unfair isn’t it?”

“Exactly.”

It would be rough. Limiting his quirk’s output and being unable to use any kind of magecraft.

But wouldn’t winning under those conditions mean he was pushing as hard as his friends were?

That was all he could hope for.

“Another important factor to consider,” Moriarty said, walking into the simulation room, “Is if you wish for your ties to Chaldea to be known to the world.”

Nathan’s eyes widened. They’d been keeping it as a loose secret. He would answer if directly asked that he simply lived in and was saved by Chaldea.

“I think that’s a little dangerous on this scale don’t you?” He asked.

Sherlock had told the commission for hero public safety that Chaldea had a leader that wished to remain in the shadows for their own safety.

That he was that leader was a closely guarded secret. No one outside of Chaldea knew the truth of why he was tied so closely to Chaldea and keeping it that way was important.

Especially considering-

Wait-

“Are you trying to draw them out?” Nathan’s eyes widened.

“There we are.” Moriarty said with a chuckle, “Yes. That nebulous enemy we’ve chased all the way to Japan. The one capable of summoning Servants without using the Holy Grail System or Chaldeas. Maybe if you told the whole world you were with Chaldea they would be spurred to move.”

It was a risk.

But-

“I… I don’t think… I don’t think that’s the best idea. I don’t want my association with Chaldea to damage my prospects at receiving a sponsor.” Nathan said very very carefully.

Moriarty studied his master with a calculating gaze before bursting out laughing.

“Wonderful! Truly Excellent! I was worried for a moment you might be willing to take that blow to serve the purposes of Chaldea. I’m glad you came out and rejected it outright! Very well! I’ll take my leave,” He bowed before turning.

“W- That was a test!?”

“Of course my dear kind Master!”

Moriarty’s signature laugh filled the simulation room before the door shut behind him.

“Shall we go another round Master?” Sigurd asked.

“... Sure why not?”

\---

It was the middle of the night, the day before.

Chaldea was usually quiet at night, most of the Heroic Spirits that stayed up tended to themselves in either the rec room or their personal quarters.

But Ushiwakamaru found herself wandering the halls.

The excitement of watching her Master compete the next day had taken away her ability to sleep.

She made her way to the cafeteria. Maybe there’d be something good to eat at least.

“Ah.”

Their eyes met as she entered the large room.

Nathan Relnor sat at one of the middle tables illuminated by a small lamp. 

“Hi Ushi. What are you doing up?”

“I could ask you the same thing Master!” She said, approaching the table.

She felt an odd sensation brush up against her leg. Looking down, she easily identified the culprit. One of the Sphinx kittens was circling her. Upon closer inspection she saw the other two at Nathan’s feet. 

“Oh. I’m. You know. I couldn’t really focus on sleep so I thought I’d have a snack to try and calm down.”

He had a cheap cup ramen in front of him.

If Emiya saw such a thing in the cafeteria he would be furious. 

Ushiwakamaru’s eyes traveled to the seat next to him.

“... You made her one too huh?”

“What?” Nathan looked up at Ushiwakamaru before following her line of sight. He regarded the second cup ramen next to him as if it had just spontaneously materialized, “Oh… I guess I did…”

“I know you made this for Mashu, but do you mind if I sit with you? It would be a shame if it went to waste…”

“Sure. That’s fine,” Nathan said with a nod before returning to his ramen, “Nothing really beats cheap cup ramen when you’re in a mood does it?”

“Of course not! It’s the ultimate food to bond with your friends over!” Ushiwakamaru said with a smile.

“I just wish. I just wish they were all still here… I know it’s for the best but…”

“Have you called them recently?”

“... No. I keep forgetting and by the time I remember it’s too late or too early for them.”

“Perhaps make an effort after the sports festival Master. I’m sure they would love to hear from you.”

“Yeah… It was just easier when they were all here.”

Ushiwakamaru reached out and patted the sulking boy’s head.

“Cheer up Master. Tomorrow after you win you can call Mashu and regale her with tales of your victorious campaign against UA.”

“Yeah. Yeah that sounds nice.”

\---

It was time. The day of the sports festival.

He sat in the designated waiting room for class 1-A.

Due to the villain attack they had completely stolen the spotlight from every other class.

Despite all the attention, Nathan remained calm. It’s not like the sky had cracked open and Chaos was staring directly at him with the intent to convert his body into Spiritrons.

He contemplated vaguely that he had an extremely different threshold than the rest of his classmates when it came to feeling nervous.

“I wish we could have worn our hero costumes though…”

“If it’s a sports competition they want to level the playing field.”

Ojiro and Mina were chatting next to him.

“Mh. Some of us would have quite the unexpected edge if we were allowed such things,” Nathan said simply. The mystic codes built into his suit came to mind. But he was also operating at a detriment without it. Without a visor to help compensate for his lack of depth perception he was operating at a handicap from the start.

Iida was yelling at them to complete their preparations.

They would be taking the stage soon.

“Midoriya,” Todoroki called out, pulling the curly haired ball of nerves to the side.

“What is it Todoroki-san?”

“On an objective basis I think I’m above you in terms of practical strength.”

What a way to start a conversation. It certainly wasn’t the worst opener Nathan had been on the receiving end of though.

“You’ve managed to catch All Might’s eye right? I won’t pry but… I’m going to beat you.”

Ah so he noticed too.

Midoriya and All Might seemed to be more than just a student and teacher. From the similarity of their quirks to how Midoriya seemed to fret over him during USJ. To All Might not stepping in during the joint battle trial and pulling him aside for lunch the other day…

There was connective tissue that Nathan hadn’t felt the need to follow up on.

But that was all beside the point. This was a declaration of war.

Kirishima, one of the most friend-shaped of the entire class, told Todoroki to essentially knock it off with the overt hostility. But. 

Midoriya rose to the challenge.

He had found his resolve two weeks ago after all.

“I don’t know what you want from me, opening up with that. I agree that you’re objectively stronger than me. But even so. Even students in non hero courses are aiming for the number one spot. I can’t let myself fall behind, so I’m going for it too. With all of my might!”

Nathan smiled.

Even though it had been only a couple of months, Midoriya was making quite the transformation already.

“I don’t get it,” Mina blurted out.

“Hm?” The table collectively turned towards her.

“Everyone’s got it out for Midoriya, but aren’t you like super strong? You fought that villain by yourself!”

“That is strange…” Yaoyorozu muttered, “You were also completely overlooked for the student council president despite being on good terms with everyone you’ve spoken to.”

Ah.

“That’s just how it is with me I think,” Nathan said with a chuckle.

Perhaps it had something to do with his scattered and incomplete training as a magus, allowing him to fly under the radar of anyone who wasn’t paying explicit attention to him.

Before they could continue the conversation someone spoke over the chaos of the room.

“It’s time for us to take to the stage everyone!” Iida called out.

They walked out into the open together.

The fanfare that greeted them was out of this world.

He was reminded of the battle of New York City that Gilgamesh had hosted for a few years now.

Midoriya looked to the one person he knew would never crumble under pressure.

“T-there’s so many people…”

“It’s one thing to be told this is one of the biggest events in Japan…” Nathan muttered to himself, “But being here. Yeah. This will be fine.”

“Nothing gets to you does it?” Shoji said with a light chuckle.

“I do try my best,”

He felt his heart drop a bit when the other classes of their year were introduced with increasingly less and less vigor. 

Pro Hero Midnight took to the stage.

“Settle down everyone!”

The crowd immediately tore into her causing her to snap at them somewhat.

“Player Rep!”

“Well. I’m up I guess,” Nathan said evenly.

The students behind him waved him on as he approached the mic.

“You can get closer to it, it won’t bite.” Midnight said playfully.

“I really can’t. I can project though,” He said holding his right arm out. He let it spark a little to indicate what exactly his problem was.

“I see. Carry on!”

Nathan took in a deep breath. 

“The best advice I’ve ever been given was to chase impossible dreams. The ones you could never reach push you harder and harder to better yourself. So I am heartened to see that everyone is out here today reaching for the impossible dream of defeating me.”

The UA students exploded, throwing all kinds of jeers at him. Each and every one of them bounced off of him to the point where he barely registered them.

“I want to see it! Show me your resolve to reach the top and I will respond in kind! Give me everything you’ve got!”

He smiled.

He showed the world that indomitable smile filled with an overwhelming inhuman amount of love.

\---

“So place your bets.” A man started passing around a hat for people to put their names and their wagers in.

It was a small dive that usually didn’t see more than a handful of people at a time, but today it was packed. It was only natural, the sports festival tended to draw a crowd.

The hat made it to a casually dressed woman with long white rabbit ears.

“Hm. I like the look of that one. That’s a crazy ass smile if I’ve ever seen one.” She said, sporting her own insane grin.

“Think he’ll take it?”

“Might be a chump who knows. Can’t judge by appearances nowadays.”

“Look at those scars though. Kid’s already been through the ringer from the looks of it.”

“You betting on him Rumi?”

“You know what? Fuck it. Let’s go. I’m one to go all in on crazy.”

“I’ll say.”

“Man shut the hell up.”

“Bet he’d make a good intern.”

“For who?”

“You!”

“Like hell, I know I saw the smile but I also heard that speech!”

“What? Too chicken to try it?”

She looked back at the TV as he descended the stage. She’d never taken an intern before but she’d also never seen a student smile quite like that before.

“Tell ya what, if he pulls it off I’ll throw him an offer.”

“Bet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a short one today but the sports festival will more than make up for it next week I think! It certainly took a very very long time for me to write! Speaking of, how do you think it will go now that we've got a new contender? Place your bets in the comments!
> 
> Any guesses as to why Shinsou's quirk didn't work on Nathan? I don't think it will come up often so I'm ok with answering that question next time!


	9. Test your (resolve)(restraint)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And here we are! Happy Friday everyone and welcome to the sports festival! Quite a few people have been asking after some of the characters that appear in this chapter so I hope your questions are at least somewhat addressed here! Other than that I hope you all enjoy!

“Please do help yourselves to the refreshments. We’ve got plenty more where that came from!” A portly well dressed man with blonde hair said jovially.

“None of it’s poisoned right, Goredolf? We don’t have a Nathan here to test this stuff.” A middle aged man with dark hair asked as he piled his plate high with sweets.

“Of course not! I made most of it myself! With the utmost care I might add!”

“Dustin’s just giving you a hard time,” A woman with blond hair said as she sat on one of the three couches situated around a frankly massive flat screen TV.

Such was affordable by the wealth Goredolf had earned during his ownership of Chaldea she assumed.

“Just like old times huh?” Another man with short hair and glasses responded, already thoroughly enjoying the comforts of Goredolf’s estate.

“Not quite. Senpai isn’t here,” A younger girl with lavender hair spoke up.

“Fou Fou!” 

In her lap sat a strange furry creature that had no real analog to a normal animal. Something like a cross between a squirrel and a fluffy cat perhaps.

“Well Nathan is who we’re all here to see! It’s a Chaldea reunion! Shame he never told us he’d managed to get into a prestigious Pro Hero school.”

“I’d imagine he’s busy managing the servants most of the time Meuniere!”

“Hey don’t bring logic into this, we’re ex Chaldea staff! We don’t need that nonsense Sylvia!”

Yes.

Not long ago Chaldea had a full support staff of scientists and mages to help operate the advanced facility.

But due to the upheaval everything they’d been through had caused they had been forced to part ways. This left Chaldea itself unable to perform some of its more critical functions but… 

Perhaps that was for the best.

“Oh! Oh it’s starting! I wonder if my boy has grown any!?” Goredolf said like the true doting parent he was.

They watched with bated breath as that Master of Chaldea walked up to the stage and gave his speech.

He challenged every single other competitor directly by declaring the thought of defeating him as an impossible dream. And then they saw it.

That smile that had left their life a little under a year ago.

“Ah.”

“Well…”

“He hasn’t changed much then.”

“Senpai honestly…”

“Fou…”

“MY BOY WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS!?”

\---

As the uproar caused by his speech died down Nathan took his place back with the rest of his class.

“With that out of the way we can move directly into our first event! These preliminaries are where a lot of tears are shed every year!” Midnight called out as a display behind her cycled through various challenges.

Was it randomized or was this part of the show?

“The first event is an Obstacle Race!” She said as the display came to a stop.

Probably not that would be a nightmare to set up on the spot.

“A 4km race between all 11 classes that circles the stadium!”

A large gate opened up behind them, grabbing the students’ attention.

It was not a big enough gate for all of them to fit through comfortably, Nathan thought to himself idly.

Unfortunately for them it was made out of metal. 

“On your marks!”

He flared the scales on his back and began to lightly tug on the top of the gate.

“Get set!”

Sigurd had been right. His main competition today would be Todoroki. The other student who had trouble wielding his quirk due to its potential lethality.

“Go!”

Thankfully he’d decided Midoriya was a bigger rival than Nathan was.

As soon as the signal sounded Nathan launched forward, clearing over the students despite being in the middle of the pack. He soared through the start gate before pushing off of it magnetically, launching himself to the head of the pack.

Todoroki was on his heels, freezing the ground and trapping the students behind him.

He swung his right hand out, sending a cascade of ice up towards Nathan.

But the boy was simply moving too fast to be caught by an attack like that.

Nathan wasn’t the only one either. Behind them class 1-A crashed through Todoroki’s barricade like it was nothing.

If anything it gave them an advantage.

Their confidence was high.

But this was not an intended obstacle.

Nathan managed to pull himself down and out of the way of a large robotic fist that almost caught him by surprise.

“I suddenly feel less bad about blowing one of these things up.”

There were at least a dozen of those massive 0 pointers they’d been told to avoid at the entrance exam.

“AND THEY’VE COME UP ON THE FIRST BARRIER! THE ROBO INFERNO!!!” Present Mic shouted from the commenters booth.

Nathan blinked.

This was supposed to slow him down wasn’t it?

The students behind him were briefly knocked off guard by the spectacle before them but Nathan just powered on through.

He was too nimble to be caught by those lumbering machines.

Pulling himself towards one in the back, he weaved through the hulking automatons without losing any momentum. Upon reaching the one in the back he pulled himself over it and came to a stop behind it, giving himself time to build up a charge.

The rest of the students had begun to act by now. A huge ice wave tore its way through the first layer of robots behind him.

At least his lead wouldn’t be too commanding.

He released the energy he’d built up and repelled himself from the last robot.

It was nowhere near his maximum unreinforced speed but that was for the best. Moving that fast made turning problematic and he didn't see many large targets for his quirk up ahead. 

Despite not being his fastest it was much much faster than running.

With the gentle turn of the course sapping his speed he did not have enough momentum to carry him over the next challenge.

He came to a running stop. He was far enough in the lead that he had a moment to assess the obstacle before him

“OUR FIRST PLACE CONTENDER HAS REACHED THE FAAAALLLLLL!!! IF YOU TAKE A TUMBLE YOU’RE OUT OF THE RACE BABY!!!!”

It was a massive pit with raised columns connected by rope bridges.

Only.

The ropes were fastened tightly with large metal fixtures. It was probably to accommodate for students with mutation quirks that gave them additional weight.

Those large fasteners made for extremely convenient targets for magnetic pulls. He took to the first rope, planting his left foot and pulling on the far anchor. His scaled foot made sliding a near frictionless affair. As long as he kept his balance this obstacle would do little to slow him down

But his competition was not that far behind him.

Specifically Todoroki and Bakugo.

“LIKE HELL AM I GOING TO LET YOU BEAT ME!!! IMPOSSIBLE DREAM MY ASS!!!” Bakugo roared as he completely ignored the rope bridges, using his explosions to propel himself over the fall in a straight line.

His speed was something, but Nathan’s lead ensured he was still on the other side of the course before Bakugo.

For the first time since the race started Nathan was forced to run.

Thankfully this was very familiar territory for him. He’d lost count of how many times he’d needed to outrun often inhuman enemies in order to escape with his life.

His left leg had many things it would fail trying, but running was one thing that they had made sure it was designed to handle.

But flying was still faster than running. Bakugo was pulling ahead and Todoroki was not far behind either of them.

“AND HERE COMES THE FINAL BARRIER! A MINEFIELD!” 

Bakugo just laughed as he took off. A minefield was not a problem against someone who did not need to touch the ground.

It was a real shame when a bolt of electricity struck him, sending him crashing into the ground and immediately tripping a mine. Nathan watched as that boy was tossed backwards with a small smile on his face. It was petty, sure, but seeing Bakugo lose so much ground so fast was somewhat cathartic after getting to know Midoriya.

He sprinted ahead without a care in the world. They’d made the locations of the mines obvious for students being careful presenting something of a dilemma but for someone who had ventured through actual war zones where people were actively trying to murder him they might as well have put neon signs over them.

Todoroki responded by sending a wave of ice out to try and slow Nathan.

With a crack Nathan’s hand split open.

He extended his arc fusion blade behind him, accurately piercing a mine with it. The explosion pushed him forward, but more importantly it disrupted Todoroki’s attack.

“YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!!” Bakugo roared as he burst forward, propelled by a relentless series of explosions.

It really was astounding that he rushed straight for Nathan instead of trying to pass him.

Not even Todoroki was surprised when another shock knocked him out of the air and into another mine. 

“This may give the people following after me an advantage… But-” Todoroki froze the ground with a layer of ice thick enough to stop the mines from detonating, extending it all the way to the end of the field.

Nathan briefly marveled at the structure before electrocuting its maker and hopping onto the ice path himself. He pushed off, planting his left foot and sliding across the rest of the minefield with an absurd ease. He ran his arc fusion blade behind him, stabbing it deep enough to melt through the ice and trip a few of the mines behind him. He was moving too fast for the explosions to catch him at this point so he mainly just wanted Todoroki to have to stop and remake the path before he could continue his pursuit.

Take every advantage presented to you. Keep your opponents off balance. Survive by any means necessary.

He shook his head. He was not in danger of losing his life. He did not need to fall back into bad habits here...

Leaving the minefield behind him he took to the final stretch.

He had not made his opening remarks lightly. He was painfully aware that he was on a different level than that of his classmates. As a mage. As the Last Master of Humanity. As the Cosmos Denier. He had stood on truly mind boggling stages and survived every last one of them.

As he approached the stadium he latched onto it magnetically. He would finish the race as he started it.

With an energetic tug, he flung himself off the ground, pulling himself well and truly ahead of the rest of the pack. He registered the sound of a massive explosion as he entered the stadium.

“AND THE MAN WHO RETURNS TO THE STADIUM IN TRIUMPH IS NONE OTHER THAN RELNOR NATHAN!!!!”

It was so awkward to hear his name announced to a stadium full of cheering onlookers.

Nathan pulled back on the gate after passing under it in order to slow down to a speed where he could safely hit the ground.

After planting his feet he took a moment to assess himself. He was winded from the run but it passed quickly.

“AAAAND IN SECOND PLACE MIDORIYA IZUKU! WHAT ARE YOU TEACHING THESE KIDS AIZAWA!?”

That caught his surprise.

He’d been so busy with Bakugo and Todoroki for most of the race that he’d almost entirely forgotten the person they’d proclaimed as their rival wasn’t him.

From that result Midoirya had certainly earned that position.

Nathan greeted him with a massive smile.

“How the everloving hell did you manage to pass them?” He asked as Bakugo and Todoroki cleared the finish line.

“Dug up the mines and… And used them to catapult myself across the minefield...” Midoriya replied out of breath.

Incredible. And none of his limbs were broken meaning he’d cleared the preliminaries without using his quirk at all.

Nathan held his left fist out and they exchanged a celebratory gesture.

“I wanted to come in first but… You were so far ahead by the time I got to the third stage…”

“Hah. Maybe next time my friend.”

\---

He hadn’t come in first. But second was absolutely a powerful result for that young man who could only barely control his quirk.

All Might watched on after the pulse pounding race.

“What do you think?”

“For coming in second Midoriya’s stock is going to shoot up. But Relnor’s? It’s probably not going to shift too much, he was already near the top of the top. I didn’t really expect him to so easily crush through the favored picks though.”

“Marketing him will be pretty easy considering how flashy his quirk is and his presence alone. He’ll be a pro to watch out for once he graduates.”

The Marketing students were at it again, but All Might couldn’t help but agree with them.

It had passed below his notice because Relnor was so quiet at school but he truly was the top contender. Even if the betting pools didn’t really reflect that.

Midoriya would have an extremely hard matchup against him when they faced off in the final round.

“Come on my boy. Show the world that you’re here!” All Might said under his breath.

\---

Screams surged through a lavish London estate.

“THAT’S MY BOY! THAT'S MY BOY RIGHT THERE!!!” Goredolf called out as he jumped up from his place on the couch. 

“Goredolf-san please calm down,” A girl with lavender hair said as she picked up a few pieces of popcorn the man had knocked to the ground.

“Oh! Look Mashu! They managed to restrain that insane boy just a little bit didn’t they? Even if he’s still crushing the competition.”

“Would you expect anything less?” Sylvia said with a chuckle.

“Doesn’t look like he’s using magic at all. I guess that makes sense. That’d be pretty unfair to the rest of those kids huh?”

“Feh!” Goredolf scoffed, “It’s already unfair to those kids simply because they’re standing against our idiot boy! Him not using magic does little to narrow the gap!”

“That’s true enough.”

“I wonder what the next round will be?”

“Fou Fou!”

\---

The rest of the class filtered into the stadium. It looked like most of Class 1-A and 1-B had made it through.

No real surprise there. The heroic department had already received some training in dealing with such things. The real surprise was Shinso’s presence.

He really was shooting for the top with everything he had.

Good. Very good.

“It’s time for the second round! The finals selection! From here on out it will be a pulse pounding battle to the top so stay on the edge of your seats folks!” Midnight called out from her podium, “The second event will be- A human cavalry battle!”

Nathan felt his life draining out of him in an instant

A ruined stadium where Servants battled against each other using their noble phantasms flashed into his mind.

No.

No…

It would be fine.

They were all humans. There was no danger of any of them suddenly summoning giant robots or sphinxes… Right?

“You ok over there Relnor-san?” Uraraka asked.

“I’m fine,” He got out quickly as he reigned his emotions in, “Just… The last cavalry battle I participated in was a lot…”

“The rules are the same as a normal human cavalry battle! You can form teams of 2-4 people forming a horseback configuration! Defend your headband and steal other people’s headbands. Now for the twist! You will individually be given points based on how you performed in round one! 42nd place will receive five, 41st will receive ten and so on! With one exception! First place is worth TEN MILLION POINTS!”

Nathan suddenly felt 41 fiery gazes turn towards him.

That made his life a little easier. Sure absolutely everyone would be gunning for him, but that also meant he could build a team purely focused on defense and still win. He just had to strike while the iron was hot.

“The battle will last for 15 minutes! You will be given one headband equal to the total number of points of your team! The person wearing them will be the warhorse rider! Fight! Steal as many headbands as you can! Personally I’d go for the guy with ten million points on his head!”

Everyone became antsy at the prospect of having to team up with the people they just brutalized to get here but that was nothing new for Nathan. In fact he already had a team member or two in mind.

He turned to Midoriya.

“Best of luck my friend. Todoroki and Bakugo aren’t the only ones that want to compete with you.”

Midoriya turned to him with a fierce smile the likes of which he’d never seen on the boy.

“Right!”

“You have 15 minutes to pick out your teams! Good hunting everyone!”

Nathan immediately approached his first pick.

“You can turn into metal right?” He asked.

He’d caught a glimpse of that boy before he rocketed away from the first obstacle.

Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu looked at him like he’d grown an extra head.

“Y-Yeah why?”

“I’d like you to join my team. Do you mind?”

“Why would you want me? Don’t you have that Kirishima guy in your class?”

“He’s more Bakugo’s friend than mine. Besides you have the distinct advantage of turning into metal which is a much better fit for me.”

Tetsutetsu’s grin grew on his face. He was getting picked over one of those 1-A elites! By the top of the pack even! 

“Well! Count me in then!”

“Me too!”

The two of them turned to find a girl with pink hair that was absolutely decked out in support gear.

“You’re the ten million boy right!?” She asked excitedly.

“Um.” Nathan got out before she continued over him.

“All eyes will be on you so it’ll be the perfect time to show off my babies!!!”

“UM,” Both Nathan and Tetsutetsu shouted, now extremely concerned.

“I can gear you out with the best of the best! My own inventions! They’ll get you out of any pinch!”

Wait. No actually that could work. Very easily.

“Ok. I want one more,” Nathan said.

He marched directly over to the person in question.

“The hell do you want?” Shinso said with a barely repressed sneer.

“You on my team.”

He was met with uproarious laughter.

“Are you serious!? I want to crush you, why would I want to work with you!?”

“You’re here to impress people right? To make a case for moving from general studies? What’s the most difficult position on the field?”

Shinso opened his mouth to mock him further before the gears in his head started spinning.

The answer was obvious wasn’t it? The place with everyone’s eyes on it. Defending the 10 million point band would be the most grueling trial.

“But why on earth-”

“You made it here didn’t you? Even though you’re in general studies? I want that resolve on my side. This is your chance to prove yourself. Now come on. Fill us in on how your quirk works while we pick out gear from that support student who’s name I forgot to get because I am exactly the kind of asshole you’re trying to stomp.”

Nathan had started out strong but completely tripped himself up about half way through.

Shinso could only laugh.

“I hate your guts but you sure can make good points. I’m in.”

With a team of 4 firmly secured Nathan and Shinso approached the others.

“So my quirk allows me to take over someone’s mind if they respond to me. I can only issue simple commands though but once they’re under they’re under,” Shinso explained, “Only ever met one exception.”

“Oh. I have no idea why I’m immune to that. I should have gotten hit by it shouldn’t I?”

Nathan himself seemed confused at his own perplexing immunity to his quirk.

“What the hell. You’re such a monster that you don’t even know why it doesn’t work?” Shinso couldn’t help but laugh in the face of such absurdity.

It was infuriating. This boy was so strong but it didn’t seem like he was putting any effort in at all.

He was making the motions but there was no passion behind it. No desire.

Was that why he wanted him on his team? To make up for that deficiency somehow?

“My quirk lets me turn my body to steel! Name’s Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu by the way!”

“Oh. Right. You all have names,” The pink haired girl said as if this was somehow a new concept to her, “I’m Hatsume Mei! The best support student you’ll ever find!”

“Wait. 1-A,” Shinso pointed to Nathan, “1-B,” He followed along to Tetsutetsu, “Support department, and general studies? You going for a diversity pick or something? I’m also not seeing terribly many offensive options here.”

“I’ll be enough in terms of offense. The only ones that will be able to stop me at all are probably Kaminari and Yaoyorozu. I’m not familiar enough with 1-B to say if you guys will have anything that can resist electricity.”

“Nothing comes up off the top of my head.”

“Oh. Relnor-san… You’ve already got quite the team don’t you?”

Tenya Iida approached the 4 of them as Hatsume started gently laying out her inventions.

“Ah. Yeah. Sorry. I’m already full up!” Nathan replied with his trademark smile.

“I see. No hard feelings! I am looking forward to competing with you then!”

They gave each other a wave before Nathan returned his attention to his team.

“So why’d you want me on your team anyway? Cuz I can turn into metal right?”

“Yes. You’ll be a good anchor for me to push off of and pull myself towards. I’m probably going to need the high speed mobility that can give me. As a team, we have no need for offense. Everyone is going to want to steal our headband so we only need to focus on defense. I will say one of our classes’ major weaknesses is that most of them are probably pretty easy to provoke so if you can just nail whoever you can with your quirk Shinso that’d be great. The less people that are on top of us the better.”

They discussed strategy for the remaining time, Hatsume handing out some support gear to both Shinso and Nathan.

It bothered Shinso how reactive his strategy was. He was right in that there was no real need to go after anyone but… 

“Alright up you go,” Tetsutetsu said as they hoisted Nathan on top of their formation.

“You know I’m used to getting carried but not quite this literally,” He said with a chuckle.

“Who the hell is strong enough to carry you?”

“I mean are you not doing that right now?”

“You know what I mean.”

He only got a chuckle in response to his question. It irked him that even though he was trying so hard to use his quirk Nathan it just wasn’t working at all. Surge Scale had nothing that should protect him from mind control so why was Nathan immune?

“Have you all formed your little teams!? I sure hope so! The countdown is starting!”

“There’s team Todoroki…” Tetsutetsu muttered, looking at the team of Todoroki, Iida, Yaoyorozu, and Kaminari.

“They’ll be rough. Todoroki is not much for conversation so I’ll have to deal with him,” Nathan said, securing his headband. 

“THREE!”

Team Bakugo was another problem to watch out for. Bakugo’s natural instincts were something to be weary of. There was a chance he was a natural born leader when he had a common goal with others.

“TWO!” 

And then there was Team Midoriya. Tokoyami, Uraraka, and a 1-B student he didn’t know.

“Who is that Tetsutetsu-san?” Nathan asked.

“Shiozaki-san, she can make vines and stuff,”

Ah. Nothing too worrying then.

“ONE!”

They would all be on them in a moment. Nathan built up power in his right arm. The only team that could defend themselves against his electricity was Kaminari.

“START!”

Every other team moved at once.

They began to converge.

Tetsutetsu immediately used his quirk as they’d discussed. 

So Nathan responded in kind. He launched himself off of his metal teammate. At about twenty meters in the air he unleashed a large wave of electricity. It was frankly absurd how easily electricity could incapacitate such a wide variety of opponents.

Of course Kaminari managed to absorb the relatively low level current Nathan had used.

He returned to his warhorse as Todoroki’s team sized them up. 

“You really are something aren’t you electricity bro! We’re getting that headband though!”

“Iida. Lets go.” Todoroki said.

Iida’s quirk fired up as their group got ready to shoot forward.

“Oh? Not gonna fight us yourself buddy?” Shinso said with a smirk.

Todoroki didn’t even bother responding. 

With Kaminari, they could absorb Nathan’s attacks.

With Yaoyorozu they could protect from other potential physical attacks.

So there was only one option.

Nathan pushed off of Tetsutetsu again, flying out of their reach faster than Iida could approach them. Kaminari had to have a maximum amount of electricity he could absorb. Nathan was unwilling to go too far but something had to be done to stop Todoroki. 

Speaking of. Todoroki swung his arm, sending out a large wave of ice.

Suddenly Nathan’s entire warhorse was frozen in place.

“Shit!” Shinso called out.

As long as he didn’t completely freeze Tetsutetsu he was safe to keep hovering. But he really needed his warhorse to be able to move.

“No worries! Hatsume Mei industries is happy to provide an area warmer!” The comically large boots she was wearing opened up. A spray of heated air vented out of the strange contraption.

“You’re kidding,” Kaminari muttered as he watched the ice melt from their feet.

“Yaoyorozu above!” Todoroki called out.

“Right!” She generated a large insulated blanket to cover their group with, “Kaminari!”

“You got it! I’ll take everything you can throw at me electricity bro!”

A blinding surge of electricity struck him from above

Nathan had never seen Kaminari fight beyond the joint training session, but the boy had made the mistake of mentioning his maximum discharge was just over a million volts.

So when five times that limit surged through him there was little he could do. He simply couldn’t absorb all of it.

It was a similar problem the Nomu had against All Might. It had a physical shock absorption quirk but that quirk had a limit to how much force it could take.

The boy short circuited as more power than he could handle ran through him.

“Uweeeehhhh….” 

“Kaminari-kun are you-” Yaoyorozu said before the insulated blanket got ripped from her hands.

Nathan returned to his warhorse, electricity sparking off his arm.

“Yaoyorozu!”

She did not have enough time to make another insulating blanket.

Lightning struck their entire warhorse once Nathan was safely back atop his.

“The other teams are getting up!”

“There’s no need to constantly keep them down, they’ll focus on the others now that we’ve crushed through them. Only the desperate will come our way and that’s when the fighting will really start.”

Nathan could not maintain a constant barrage and still have the strength for whatever challenges that were yet to come.

Dealing with Kaminari and Todoroki was priority one. They were the only ones that could tear through his team relatively easily. The rest he could handle on his own.

“Let’s move back, I don’t want to be in the middle of this when everyone gets back to their senses.”

And indeed, they were quickly set upon as those teams recovered.

Bakugo shot forward off of his warhorse and moved to attack Nathan.

“Have you really learned nothing?” Nathan said as he flung the insulating blanket at his opponent.

Bakgugo dodged up to avoid getting caught in it.

Electricity passed through his body, threatening to rob him of his consciousness.

Thankfully his warhorse was upon them, Sero catching the seizing teen and pulling him back to the top of their formation.

“Gurh- You!” Bakugo roared.

Nathan’s quirk essentially made him near unapproachable. Even Bakugo, who was not the most direct fighter in the world, couldn’t get close enough to attack him properly.

Not without using a blast that risked bringing his opponent severe injury.

If they were not holding back Bakugo was confident he’d be able to defeat that strange boy who had somehow risen to the top of the class without him even noticing.

They watched briefly as the other warhorses engaged each other. Somehow the holder of ten million points was going unchallenged. Then again anyone who even veered anywhere near them was immediately electrocuted by that absurd quirk of his.

Hagakure’s team had no defense and was turned away immediately.

Shoji’s team didn’t even bother to engage. Tsuyu knew first hand exactly how powerful Nathan was and decided going for the gold just wasn’t worth it.

One of the 1-B teams ran up, Tetsutetsu identifying the leader as Kendo Itsuka.

They were odd. A few body parts swirled around them independently. At least they weren’t bleeding or attached to ghosts as far as Nathan could tell.

A wide arc of electricity made them reconsider taking them on one on one.

As they retreated something caught his attention and he fired electricity off to the side.

Dark Shadow was repelled by the light that strike had created.

But the vines that followed were not.

Nathan’s arm cracked as his hand split open. The vines were troublesome but they could only reach him if he let them. He extended his arc fusion blade and severed the vines before they could entangle his warhorse.

“God you really have something for everything don’t ya?” Shinso said with a begrudging smirk.

As Bakugo readied another charge something distracted him.

His headband was pulled off by a passing warhorse.

“Monoma-san?” Tetsutetsu called out.

“Quirk?”

“He can copy the quirks of people he touches!”

“Mine won't help but Shinso’s would be trouble. I’ll fry him if he gets close.”

Nathan’s quirk would not be anywhere near as powerful as he made it seem on anyone else.

His power came from diligent practice, losing a few limbs, and several of history's greatest heroes helping him theorycraft new ways to use his quirk.

Even if Monoma’s quirk worked like EMIYA’s tracing where he could see the history of the quirk he wouldn’t be able to produce the volume of scales he’d need.

Plus removing them would be intensely painful once this was over.

Nathan felt like he should warn his potential opponent but he had other pressing matters to attend to.

Midoriya watched carefully.

He had grabbed two powerful ranged attackers in order to try and deal with Nathan’s quirk.

But Nathan proved to be even more powerful than he’d anticipated.

It really was something watching him outmaneuver Todoroki’s group.

Having fought them himself while everyone was busy bouncing off of Nathan’s team he knew exactly how difficult of a task that was

“You really are it aren’t you?” Midoriya said as a smile overtook him.

“Perhaps,” Nathan said simply as electricity flared from his back, striking Hagakure’s entire warhorse as they attempted to attack from behind.

“You better watch out you hero course bastards. I’m coming to take your number,” Shinso said with a smile equally as fierce as Midoriya’s.

“I will pull through here!” Midoriya shouted. He hadn’t responded to Shinso at all so his quirk could not reach him.

Nathan’s warhorse was woefully underdeveloped. But it almost didn’t matter. It’s rider was so absurd that all he really needed was people who could keep their eyes open for him.

No. Underdeveloped was not the right word.

It perfectly suited him. He brought all of the danger onto himself and had dependable allies waiting to support him.

“Let’s go Tokoyami-san!”

“Dark Shadow!”

Darkness rushed towards Nathan who merely pointed his arc fusion blade towards the attack. His hand readjusted ever so slightly, allowing him to extend the blade all the way through the attack.

It was over five meters long.

Midoriya had to wonder as he watched both Dark Shadow and that blade retract.

Where were his limits?

He honestly had no idea.

He’d watched him fight that Nomu.

But he had not left that fight out of exhaustion. He had been forced to stop.

That was the kind of opponent they faced. Someone who could fight a creature meant to counter All Might to a draw without reaching his limits.

“Shiozaki-san!”

Vines came up from under Nathan’s warhorse, binding the group in place.

“Yo think something like this will take us down!? After we fought so hard to get here! Answer me!” Shinso roared out.

“I have to advance!” Midoriya answered his determination with his own.

“Gottem,” Shinso said as Midoriya went limp.

Nathan simply pointed his right arm at them.

Dark Shadow tentatively approached them, but without Midoriya’s direction their coordination faltered.

“Midoriya-san are you ok!?” Uraraka called out.

But the boy remained silent.

Explosions drew Nathan’s attention to Bakugo stealing back his headband. Monoma had pissed him the hell off so he wasn’t going to stop until he’d taken everything from him.

There was less than a minute left of the competition.

Todoroki’s team had recovered, but Kaminari would not make it in time.

Ice started to flower out, surrounding those two standstill teams. 

“Trying this again huh Todoroki?” Nathan called out.

“I’m taking that headband.”

Shinso glanced over his shoulder to Nathan, “How the hell did you get that guy to respond? You gotta teach me some of this quip shit.”

“I just have lots of practice,” Nathan said with a smile. His warhorse was pinned and Todoroki’s was the most agile on the field considering Iida.

“You know I’m just going to spend the last minute in the air if this is going to be your game plan. It’s a lame play but as I said before, I’m not letting anyone defeat me.”

Todoroki swung his arm. A gigantic wave of ice shot forward. It would entirely consume them.

Nathan desperately wished he was allowed to use the gate so he could pull some runes for fire magic.

Instead he needed to rely on the heat he could generate from his electricity.

He recreated his arc fusion blade and got ready to cut away whatever he could but with that much ice approaching there was only so much he could do.

So when Hatsume thrust her arm forward and a goddamn flamethrower popped out of her gauntlet Nathan could only marvel.

It wasn’t much in the face of that much ice, but through Hatsume and Nathan’s efforts they managed to stop themselves from being frozen solid. 

“So,” Shinso started, “Do you think he meant to give us the perfect defensive structure?”

“No, it’s thin up here at the top. Ice is also insulating so I’ll have to defend myself the moment they break through right on top of us.”

“At least he froze the vines,” Tetsutetsu said, shattering his bindings with little effort.

“He’s got 40 seconds to make a big play,” Nathan said as he started cutting through the side of their ice prison with his arc fusion blade, “I’d rather not be a sitting duck for the first person who punches through the ice above us so let’s move.”

They burst from the ice only to be met by Todoroki’s team once again.

This was going nowhere fast. He had to chase them away and make them consider other targets.

“We’re going on the offensive.” Nathan said, activating just the outer layer of his scales.

“Wait that’s a bad idea!” Shinso shouted.

But it was already too late. Nathan launched off of Tetsutetsu and lashed out.

Todoroki was covered in ice. Nathan knew that he was violently holding back half of his quirk. He didn’t know what for, but there was a wall Todoroki needed to break through soon.

He moved to defend with his left, panicked by Nathan’s sudden attack.

Fire lapped forth from that arm. But just as soon as it emerged it died out.

“Che- Again-” he heard Todoroki mutter bitterly.

But this was enough of a distraction for Nathan to land a clean blow to that defending arm. Electricity surging through the faltering boy.

“Iida close your eyes!”

Nathan didn’t have time to react. The stun grenade went off almost directly in his face. His vision blown away Nathan pulled back magnetically. He could thankfully see through other means, so he found his way back to his warhorse without much effort.

“Guh, can’t see shit here Relnor,” Shinso called out. 

“I can see them, get ready, they’re going to want-”

A loud blaring horn cut him off.

The round was over.

They had done it. 

They’d kept their headband throughout the whole match.

“Holy hell we did it…” Shinso muttered to himself.

“How did we even... ” Tetsutetsu said in a daze as he tried to look at the scoreboard.

Team Midoriya, Team Bakguo, and Team Todoroki held enough points to advance as well.

They waited a moment for the effects of Yaoyorozu’s stun grenade to pass.

Nathan simply smiled as he dismounted his warhorse, “Great job everyone. Thank you for all of your support.”

“Damn. And here I thought you were just crazy,” Shinso said with a smirk.

“And I got to show off my babies!” Hatsume said with a triumphant smile.

“Congratulations on making it to the last round! The next event will be after an hour long lunch break!!!” Present Mic shouted from the commentary booth.

Nathan looked at his right hand.

Heavy use of his arc fusion blade and magnetic flight was starting to take its toll.

He couldn’t stop the trembling that ran through that artificial limb.

“You alright man?” Tetsutetsu asked.

“Yeah. I’ll be fine. It’ll need to be replaced after this probably but I came in expecting that.”

“R-Replaced?”

Shinso locked onto that boy the moment that word left Tetsutetsu’s mouth.

“Yeah! My arm and leg are prosthetics I made out of my quirk! So overusing them tends to damage them. I can just regrow them though but I prefer to do it when I’m at home and I have people watching over me!”

How could he talk about something like that like it was completely normal?

Was he insane?

He had lost a leg to stand on so he built a new one.

He had lost an arm to reach out to people so he built a new one.

Shinso looked at his own hands and clenched them tightly.

Had he been mistaken earlier? If he had that much determination to get back up despite those grievous injuries then why did it seem like he was hardly trying? 

“Hey, Relnor,”

“Hm?”

“I’m going to crush you in the finals. Mark my words.” Shinso said with an indomitable smile.

“Yeah! I’m looking forward to it!” Nathan replied back with that strange strange smile of his own.

They were swarmed by their collective classes, Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki were pulled aside by 1-B as their only qualifying members.

Shinso and Hatsume disappeared into the crowd to make their own preparations.

“You went entirely outside of Class 1-A and came out on top,” Iida said as he walked over. He was crestfallen but it was obvious to Nathan that a fire was burning in his heart.

“I didn’t mean it as an insult. I simply followed my feelings as to who I wanted to join me. And then Hatsume-san blindsided me anyway,” He said with a light chuckle. “I would have liked you or Tokoyami to join me in her place but it looks like it all worked out anyway.”

“It is an honor to hear you say that Relnor-san.”

Nathan just laughed as yet more 1-A students approached them.

“It sucks to lose but congratulations everyone,” Tsuyu said with a smile.

“You were all challenging opponents,” Nathan said as they cheered amongst themselves. But being ever observant, Nathan realized something was off.

Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki had gone off somewhere.

It’s not like they could have gone far. The next event would be in an hour. He decided to join class 1-A for lunch instead of looking for them.

\---

“This kid’s crazy. He picked a bunch of no names he didn’t know and still crushed every other class! Half of his team wasn’t even in the heroics course!” One of the bar patrons shouted loudly.

“He’s crazy all right! My kind of crazy!”

At first that bunny eared woman had regretted potentially taking a chump as her first intern. 

His performance in round one eased her doubts.

His performance in round two solidified it as one of the best choices she’d ever made. He didn’t need anyone, and his team composition showed it. He did almost all of the heavy lifting all by himself and dragged everyone else along with him.

He was just like her.

That smile too! He looked like he was having the time of his life!

“You would see that outrageous performance and say that you damn carrot fiend.”

“Shut the fuck up!”

She would do it.

If he managed to bring the whole thing home and win the third round he would have the honor of being her first intern.

How the hell was she supposed to submit that kind of request again?

\---

Nathan sat with Koda, Shoji, and Ojiro as he let himself decompress somewhat.

“You sure your arm is ok?” Ojiro asked, “Seems like quite the handicap to be going into the third round with.”

“It’s at about sixty percent,” Nathan said with a shrug. “If there are only 15 other students left I shouldn’t be in too much trouble.”

Koda just signed that he was surprised Nathan was so confident.

“I have to keep that energy up. I challenged everyone at the start of the festival. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if I didn’t present the ultimate obstacle to overcome after saying all that.”

It certainly wouldn’t be the first time he reached out to help his opponents.

Had the Lostbelts not been one long run of helping people he was eventually going to have to destroy?

“At least you’re taking this somewhat seriously,” Shoji said as his eyes fell on Kaminari and Sero speaking feverishly with their female classmates.

“I’m trying my best,” Nathan said between mouthfuls of food.

“I am looking forward to watching you compete with everyone else. Shame we didn’t make it to the third round but we’ll be cheering for you,” Ojiro said with a smile.

“I’ll be sure to fight as hard as I can for you. Within reason of course. I’m not allowed to go all out here.”

“Yeah please don’t. I don’t think anyone would survive that lightning strike you used against those villains.”

Koda signed another question, asking Nathan exactly what that attack was.

“My maximum output,” Nathan answered without intending on going into much more detail, “It’s basically my super move at this point.”

“That you already have a super move…” Shoji muttered, “We have a lot of catching up to do it seems.”

“This whole sports festival has made that clear,” Ojiro laughed, “You’re in a league of your own man.”

Nathan didn’t want to say that. Todoroki was the kind of opponent he had to take out before he could be taken out. At least he would be if he stopped holding back so much. 

It was painfully obvious in his eyes.

A deep resentment paralyzed him. 

But for what he couldn’t say. 

He also honestly wished he could tell them that comparing themselves to him was utterly unfair for them. He’d been fighting for his very life, for the lives of everyone on the planet, for the last five years. He had an ocean of experience over them. He was sure they’d catch up, but for now that experience was an insurmountable wall.

He already stood at the apex of what he was capable of without leaving the realm of a human being.

“Living at a pro hero organization teaches you a few things I guess… I feel like I’ve got a bit of an edge is all.”

They watched as the girls all hurried off, Sero and Kaminari high fiving once they were sure they were out of earshot.

“At least look happy about clearing the first two rounds on top,” Shinso said as he approached the table of four.

“You’re one to talk,” Nathan fired right back. He quickly introduced his new friend to the table before that tired looking purple haired boy took a seat.

Shoji watched as that general studies student that had challenged Bakugo and the rest of their class two weeks ago casually talked to Nathan like they were old friends.

His eyes fell to Nathan.

He had made connections with three strangers that were strong enough to defeat all of his peers in less than 15 minutes.

It was absurd when he thought about it that way, but hadn’t he been the same way? All it had taken was one conversation for him to start considering Nathan a good friend.

That was not a power that came from his quirk. That came from somewhere else.

It came from the same place that overwhelming smile came from.

\---

“What the fuck,” Nathan muttered as they reentered the stadium.

All of the girls from his class stood in an awkward line.

They each wore matching cheerleading uniforms.

“Is this normal for you lot?” Shinso asked.

“Not in the time I’ve known them.”

He looked over to see Kaminari and Sero giving the girls a thumbs up. They’d clearly been tricked into those uniforms, but Nathan was surprised that they hadn’t just up and gone back to the waiting room to change yet.

Hagakure was enjoying herself at least.

“The recreation events will begin shortly! But first! I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for details about the final event!”

The large screen across the arena lit up displaying a tournament bracket.

“Sixteen combatants! We’re pitting them against each other one on one in the Sports Festival Finals Tournament!!!”

Excitement surged through the participants. They were going to stand on the same stage they saw on TV every year.

“You’ll each draw lots to decide your placement!” Midnight called out from her stage, holding a small box in her hands, “It’s up to you if you want to participate in the recreational events, I’m sure you’d like to conserve your strength. So! Starting from the top!”

Nathan took to the stage and began rifling around in the box with his left hand.

“You know I didn’t pick you for the competitive type but you sure as hell have been pulling through,” She said with a wink.

He pulled his number and gave her a nod.

“Sometimes you have to throw gasoline on something to help light a fire. I’m just waiting for someone to burn bright enough to finish me off.”

That struck her as odd. Was that even really a personal aspiration? For someone to beat him? Did he not have anything he was fighting for despite the fact that he’d riled every other competitor up against him?

He left the podium without waiting for her reply. 

If he could inspire others to work harder he would do it. If he could inspire people to follow their dreams he would do it. If he had to throw himself under the bus to do it…

It was a price he was ready to pay.

The remaining 15 students lined up and took their numbers. Once they had all been placed the large screen changed to show the actual bracket.

“Ashido-san huh?” Nathan muttered.

“GUH! I GOT THE TOUGHEST ONE RIGHT AWAY!?” Mina shouted from behind him.

“Luck of the draw, we’re in different halves of the bracket,” Shinso said, disappointment evident in his voice.

Shinso had Midoriya round one which was probably a death sentence. Although, without being able to use his quirk properly it would be down to a fistfight if Midoriya kept his mouth shut.

Todoroki was another matter entirely.

Shinso would have to burn that bridge when he got there.

Nathan looked at his side of the tournament, Tokoyami vs Momo would determine his round two opponent. And Bakguo was over there on the far end. He’d probably wind up facing him one way or another.

“Well. This will certainly be interesting,” Nathan said to himself as Shinso left his side in favor of skulking up to Midoriya.

He decided not to take part in the recreational events. Midnight had been right, stamina was something he needed to conserve. Especially considering his arm was already a little shaky.

Four rounds. That’s all it needed to last.

Surprisingly, despite being tricked into it, the 1-A girls actually started doing a relatively good job at cheering on the students as they lined up to start participating.

Except for two at least.

“You ok?”

Yaoyorozu jumped in surprise.

“Ah! Sorry. I-”

“Got a lot on your mind?” Nathan asked.

“Yes… Well. I’m just trying to think of what to do for my first round.”

“Don’t you already know of an effective strategy? We fought him in the indoor training exercise.”

Yaoyorozu looked at him for a moment.

“You were the one that did all the fighting there-”

“Yes but the plan we went over worked. You’ve already made the tools needed to defeat him once before, the rest comes down to who wants it more.”

It was a bit of an aloof answer, but she had not directly asked him for advice. He was just giving some encouraging words. If she wanted a battle plan on how to accurately take him down he would provide one, but…

Thinking on your feet has its own value.

“... Thank you… I think. I think I have a direction to go in now,” She said with a smile. 

“Glad to hear it.”

“You two talking strategy?” Jiro said as she walked over, “Need any help? Not exactly doing anything else.”

“Not the cheering type?” Nathan asked dryly.

“Har har. Can’t believe those two, I’m gonna wring their necks first chance I get.” Jiro said with perhaps a bit too much malice.

“Still, it doesn’t hurt to be a little festive does it?” Yaoyorozu said, now thoroughly snapped out of her doldrums.

“I guess, but still. I’d rather not be tricked into it.”

“Where did you guys even get those uniforms so quickly?”

“Oh. I made them,” 

Nathan just looked at Yaoyorozu. Vice president of his class and yet she’d been caught hook line and sinker. Perhaps that was because she didn’t have much experience with guys like Kaminari.

“So what are you doin over here big guy? Don’t you need to rest for the tournament?”

“I am resting,” Nathan said simply, “I like having a bit of chaos around me, it reminds me of home. If I went off into a corner to hide I’d just be alone with my thoughts and that doesn’t always go well.”

“Oh. Huh. I guess I get that. I figured you had a pretty good grip on your nerves though all things considered.”

“In direct combat, yes. Otherwise I’m just as bad as Midoriya at times. Although I do tend to keep it to an internal monologue most of the time.”

“How many times have you been in direct combat?” Yaoyorozu asked.

His familiarity with it was absurd. He could read a fight to its conclusion before it even started. Plus he’d jumped straight in at USJ. Even Bakugo hadn’t responded immediately and he was by far more aggressive than Nathan was. 

Nathan just looked at them like they’d spoken another language before opening his mouth and promptly closing it.

“Living in a pro hero organization at the front line of battle has had some challenges, but it’s nothing severe.” He said vaguely. It was such a nebulous answer that he might as well have said nothing.

But that would have made things even more awkward.

“I should get going, I’m gonna grab some drinks, do you guys need me to bring some for the squad.”

“Oh! Yes please!” Mina called out.

He quickly excused himself before retreating to the waiting room for refreshments.

“What kind of answer was that,” Yaoyorozu muttered.

“The kind where he didn’t want to lie but didn’t want to tell the truth,” Jiro said sagely, returning to her seated position and simply waiting for the cheering to be over.

\---

Nathan was fighting fifth in the first round so even as the tournament drew closer he had plenty of time to relax.

He figured the best thing to do would be to observe his potential opponents. Thankfully he had company.

Mina sat on his right eagerly chomping away on some provided popcorn. Jiro was next to her, with Yaoyorozu and Shoji on his left. 

“So Midoriya’s up first eh? Against that Shinso kid? What’s his quirk?”

“He can take control of your mind if you verbally respond to him,” Nathan supplied, “He can only give simple commands though.”

Jiro gulped audibly, “That’s terrifying.”

“It shouldn’t be. Shinso’s a good guy. He just wants to be a hero like the rest of us.”

“I guess he has to be somewhat good if you picked him for the cavalry battle,” Shoji muttered to himself.

Nathan decided to leave out the part where Shinso’s quirk didn’t work on him for some reason. If the rest of his class saw him casually approach Shinso more often then maybe his reputation would get better.

“What do you think, Nathan?” Yaoyorozu asked.

“Midoriya’s been hit by that quirk before so maybe he’s already figured it out and will be able to avoid it. If he can manage that he’s got better physical conditioning than Shinso so it’ll be an easy win. If he doesn’t… Well… That’s just the end of the road. Turn around and walk out of the ring is a simple command.”

“A fair assessment… I suppose we’ll have to see.”

“Oh Oh! I think they’re starting soon!”

He didn’t know who he wanted to pull for more. He desperately wanted to face off against both of them in the finals. 

“Reach out and grasp that impossible dream!” he called out. 

Both participants approached the newly completed ring.

The Final event was sure to start with a bang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a lot of good guesses but the reason Nathan's immune to Shinso's quirk is that Caster Gilgamesh gives you the Tablet of Destinies at bond 10. Simply having it makes you immune to mental corruption and mind control! Since Nathan is a good boy he has quite the treasury of things Servants give him at bond 10 including one thing that he's used a few times already!
> 
> Anyway I hope you enjoyed! With Nathan I can never really tell if I'm just making him too broke op or if this kind of strength is justified by the trials he's gone through already. Either way come back next week to see the Tournament part of this Tournament arc!


	10. Reach out to your future (and save others)(and find nothing there)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And here we are! The Sports Festival Tournament! Happy Friday everyone and I do hope you enjoy this chapter! It certainly was a long one! Unfortunately I might have to switch to updating once every two weeks after this chapter because I've only got two more that are done after this and my writing has slowed down a bit since the new year started... I hope you guys don't mind!

Shinso and Midoriya stood on opposite ends of the arena.

“MATCH ONE! Midoriya Izuku vs Shinso Hitoshi! The rules for the tournament are simple! Ring out your opponent! Immobilize them! Or get them to yield! Those are your victory conditions! Endangering each other’s lives is a flat out loss but you are free to injure each other within reason! We have wonderful pros waiting to take control if things get out of hand! NOW THEN!”

“You’re friends with him aren’t you? That absurd monster that’s in your class?”

“READY!?”

Midoriya was caught off guard at Shinso’s words, who did he mean exactly?

“STAAAAAART!!!!”

“Relnor-san is really something isn’t he? I hate his guts but I can’t help but feel bad for him. That’s why you’re friends with him right? Because you pity him?”

“Pity him-”

Midoriya Izuku’s entire body locked up.

“And so, I win.”

\---

“Well shit,” Nathan said as he watched Shinso order Midoriya to turn around and walk out of the ring.

“Midoriya…” Yaoyorozu muttered under her breath.

“Hey! Hey you think there’s any way to break out of that!?” Mina asked.

“If there is Shinso didn’t tell me.”

“What an absurdly powerful Quirk… He’s in general studies right? How did that happen?” Shoji asked.

“Because the hero course application test filters out people who have quirks that only work on humans,” Nathan said sharply. 

Yes.

He’d realized it when he took it himself after all.

Jiro opened her mouth to protest but nothing came out. He was right wasn’t he? They were graded on how they performed against robots. Even if someone like Shinso wanted to be a hero the only path they had was to apply to something like general studies and transfer over.

“Thats…”

“Now the only question is. Who wants it more? If there’s one thing I know about Midoriya it’s that he’s got determination to spare.”

Nathan watched. Who would prevail? In this fight where determination was the deciding factor. Who had more resolve to push forward?

One more step and it would be all over for Midoriya.

An explosion of force burst out.

Midoriya came to a halt and turned to face his opponent once more.

“There we go!” Nathan called out.

\---

In a straight fight he would lose. He simply did not have the conditioning of someone in the heroics course.

“How the hell are there so many people that can break out of this all of the sudden!?” Shinso called out.

There was no way Miodoriya would open up again. He knew exactly how dangerous it was to speak now.

He tried everything he could to get him to speak. He tried to earn his pity. He tried to draw it out directly. Eventually he just screamed for him to respond. But Midoriya Izuku kept his mouth shut the entire time.

He pushed through his doubts and began to physically shove Shinso out of the ring.

Shinso lashed out, punching Midoriya straight in the face.

But it wasn’t enough.

In the end they wound up in a small skirmish before Midoriya overhead tossed him out of the ring.

“Shinso is out! Midoriya Izuku advances to round two!”

\---

“Damn,” Shoji muttered.

They watched as Shinso exited the ring before being encouraged by his fellow general education students. 

“He’ll make a good hero I think,” Nathan said with a smile, “He’s got the fire for it.”

“You think so? I wonder if he’ll be transferred into our class or not then?”

“One can only hope.”

“I think you’re the only one that thinks that, then again if you say he’s not bad I’m inclined to believe you,” Jiro said casually.

“Who’s up next?” Mina asked.

“Todoroki-san and Sero-san,” Shoji supplied.

“Oh. That’ll be rough for Sero…”

“I’ll say! The only person that’s got any chance of beating Todoroki is you probably!”

“I wouldn’t go that far. Bakugo and Midoriya have everything they’d need to win. It just depends on how the matches go.”

Yaoyorozu nodded along. Bakugo’s natural battle sense was extremely strong as he’d demonstrated in the indoor battle trial. He could probably overcome Todoroki’s quirk with that alone.

But even Bakugo’s natural talent in battle was nothing compared to Nathan’s intuition. Compared to the rest of the class Nathan was an unparalleled genius in the field of tactics and matchup analysis.

She almost wanted to ask him how she could beat him.

Would he even answer that?

Probably not…

She watched as he nearly knocked over his drink, having apparently misjudged how close it was to him.

Wait.

He only had one eye.

He couldn’t have any depth perception. So how was it that his attacks were always so accurate?

Any slight deficiency in his perceptive ability would have gotten him killed against that villain at USJ.

And yet here he was almost spilling his drink all over the place.

What process allowed for both of those outcomes?

“I have a question Relnor-san, about the scales on your eye.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Do you have any depth perception?”

“Um. Kind of? I can see electromagnetic fields with my right eye so I can see like people and big things, but for something small like this it doesn’t work,” He said holding up his drink.

“That’s wild,” Jiro muttered, “Every time you talk about your quirk I just get more and more concerned with how you live your daily life.”

“I’m fine really! I’ve gotten used to most of it.”

“Oh! They’re here! They’re here!”

Everyone’s attention turned to the ring.

“Has anyone ever seen Todoroki-san look quite that pissed before?”

A soft echo of no’s sounded out in response.

“Sero might be fucked.” Nathan muttered.

\---

Sero was fucked.

He’d attacked the moment the round started but…

“Sorry.”

“D-don’t you think… You overdid it a little?” Sero managed to get out between shivers.

“Can you move?” Midnight asked, half frozen.

Sero looked down at his body which was almost entirely trapped in an absolutely massive glacier.

“No.”

“Todoroki Shoto advances to round 2!”

The half and half boy approached the large glacier and began melting it with his left.

“I’m sorry… I was just a little pissed…”

“D-don’t worry about it man…”

\---

“Well… He did his best,” Nathan muttered, offering a small prayer to the thawing tape boy.

“I wonder what set Todoroki off? Does he have some kind of blood grudge against Sero-san?” Mina asked.

“Not that I know of. I don’t think I’ve really seen Todoroki-san speak with basically anyone except you and Midoriya,” Yaoyorozu said with a pointed glance to Nathan.

“He’s very reserved. I don’t think this is a blood grudge against Sero specifically but it certainly looks like a blood grudge,” Nathan supplied as the massive glacier began to break apart from Todoroki’s efforts.

“Well… Who’s next?” Shoji asked, hoping to clear the somewhat gloomy air.

“Kaminari-san and Shiozaki-san,” Yaoyorozu supplied.

“Kaminari’s going to have it rough. Those vines aren’t structured like normal plants so they’re not terribly conductive. I had to use my arc cutter on them.”

“You think Kaminari-san’s gonna be able to do stuff like you can Relnor-san?” Jiro asked.

“Our Quirks work very differently so it’ll be difficult but with enough practice I don’t see why he wouldn’t be able to do some of it. I didn’t start out like this, it took years of practice to drag myself to where I am right now,”

Nathan’s right arm was still twitching from overuse.

There was another difference between himself and Kaminari. The amount of voltage he could generate was leagues ahead of Kaminari. He didn’t know if that was a gap that could be overcome but perhaps with time…

Jiro for her part just gave him a look before shrugging.

It was odd wasn’t it?

Practicing from such a young age before even reaching any kind of hero school?

The third round started as soon as the glacier was cleared. Shiozaki’s victory was claimed swiftly thereafter. Kaminari almost immediately got caught in a trap and expended more power than his body could handle trying in vain to get out of it.

Nathan wished his wayward electricity brother well as he was carried out of the ring.

“Next?” He asked.

“Oh. Uh. Iida-san and that support girl that was on your team?”

“Ah. Iida should win on paper…” Nathan muttered darkly.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Hatsume-san’s not in it to win it, she's in it to sell her gear. Victory means something completely different to her.”

His four peers paled slightly at the thought of it.

“Rest in peace Iida…”

Sure enough when the match started Hatsume immediately began advertising the gear both she and he wore.

“We should probably get moving,” Nathan said to Mina, “I don’t know long she’s gonna take but we’re up next.”

“Oh… Right! I’ll see you guys later!”

They exited the stands together and headed towards their waiting room.

“Hey. Don’t take it easy on me ok?” Mina said in the relative quiet of that empty room.

“I have to hold back a little bit. My quirk will kill you if I go all out,” Nathan said somewhat evasively.

“You know what I mean. I wanna be able to walk away from this match with my head held high!”

Nathan looked at the pink skinned girl for perhaps longer than was necessary.

“I understand.”

“Hey.”

“Hm?”

“You’ve been through a lot of stuff right? Like dealing with Villains?”

Nathan broke eye contact as a laundry list of opponents filtered through his mind. He couldn’t be specific but Mina was perceptive enough that she’d be able to tell he was lying if he said no.

“Yeah.”

“I always tried really hard to stand up to bullies when I was in middle school. Then one day a big villain was looming over my friends… I rushed in and lied to him about the location of what he was looking for to get him to leave them alone.”

“That’s incredible Ashido-san,” Nathan said with a genuine air she’d never seen out of him before. 

“But I was terrified you know! After he left we all broke down sobbing. But you. After USJ you didn’t even-”

“I was afraid,”

Mina’s thoughts slammed to a stop. That boy had been scared!? The one taunting the villains at every opportunity and constantly pushing forward no matter what? He was afraid!?

“Combat is always scary. You could lose a limb or die even if you do everything right. But you’ve already realized it haven’t you? You used your fear to save your friends and then when it was safe you released it. The only difference between you and me is that I’m used to weaponizing that fear.”

“Hey, their match just ended, you two should head to your starting positions,” One of the sports festival staff members said quickly from the door.

“Alright,” Nathan stood before giving his future opponent one last smile, “I’ll see you in the ring.”

“Y-yeah.”

As he walked off she had one final thought.

Was it a good thing to be able to wield fear as a weapon? Was it a good thing to be that accustomed to danger? 

Was that healthy?

\---

“Fifth match! Relnor Nathan verses Ashido Mina!”

His right arm let out a few sparks as a test. He needed to conserve his strength somewhat so his more powerful attacks were off the table. 

She didn’t advertise it, but an acid quirk was just as dangerous to use against humans as his electricity. She had to be careful not only for his sake but for her own.

“Ready?”

She took up a stance. It looked like she was about to start dancing instead of fighting, but perhaps that was just her style.

“START!”

Mina wasted no time. She sprayed a streak of acid out in front of her and dashed onto it, allowing her to slide forward.

“Here I come Relnor-kun!” 

He pushed off of the stadium behind him and met her charge. Reflexively she swung her right arm out, throwing out a wave of acid with that swing. Nathan halted the flow of electricity to his left leg just before he planted it, causing it to lose all rigidity. Instead of pushing off of his left foot for his next step he unexpectedly dropped down, letting her attack pass harmlessly overhead. As soon as he could, he reactivated his leg. The sudden return of its rigidity pushed him up, allowing him to deliver a fierce left uppercut to her gut.

Ashido doubled over from the force of the blow. She had to fall back and get her breath back-

But it was already too late.

As he pulled back from the attack a gentle hand fell on her shoulder. Enough electricity to leave her immobilized surged through her body from that point of contact.

He caught her by the side as she fell.

“Ashido Mina is unconscious! Relnor Nathan advances to the second round!” 

He gave a light sigh as Mina’s senses returned to her.

“Ugh, what happened?”

“I hit you in the diaphragm and then electrocuted you to keep you from melting me.”

“Sounds about right. Can you give me a hand here?.” She asked as she swung her arm over his shoulders. 

“You alright?”

“I- I think so? Just winded.”

“That’s what I was going for. Sorry. I couldn’t risk fighting you for too long and getting my arm or leg damaged.”

Oh.

So he’d ended it quickly because he was afraid of fighting her for too long? That made her feel a little better about losing in five seconds flat. With a steadying hand on her shoulder the two of them left the ring.

\---

Nathan was the first to make it back to his seat.

“Where’s Ashido-san?” Jiro asked.

“She’s getting checked out to make sure I didn’t hit her too hard. A blow like that could cause some serious internal damage if you’re not careful. She should be back soon though.”

“I see. Yaoyozoru-san’s already left for her match,” Shoji supplied helpfully.

“Oh. This’ll be interesting.”

“Thoughts?”

“It could go either way but the victor will be whoever acts first.”

Tokoyami had the potential to be an extremely overwhelming opponent, one Nathan was hoping he wouldn’t have to face directly.

On the other hand Yaoyorozu could produce stun grenades at will. Whoever went in with a more solid plan in their head would be able to claim victory.

\---

“Match six! Yaoyorozu Momo verses Tokoyami Fumikage! START!”

Yaoyorozu didn’t wait a single instant, she created a stun grenade, pulled its pin, and immediately tossed it.

She held her arm in front of her closed eyes, creating a shield as it went off. The blinding light that followed in the next moment completely blew Dark Shadow away.

She pushed forward creating another stun grenade.

There was no way Tokoyami wasn’t expecting this kind of play, so he had probably managed to shield his eyes. The question now was how quickly could Dark Shadow come back after being repressed by such a blinding light.

She tossed the grenade at his feet.

He lunged forward, leaving the device behind. Dark Shadow quickly reemerged and attacked with an enormous amount of force.

She managed to deflect the first blow with her shield but she was knocked off balance.

Before she could receive another blow the second stun grenade went off. With a horrid shriek Dark Shadow retreated back into Tokoyami. This gave her much needed time to recover. 

Nathan flashed into her mind briefly as she created her next weapon.

He was startlingly effective because one touch from either of his scale limbs was like getting hit with a taser.

She grabbed the stun rod that she’d created from her leg and swung, striking Tokoyami’s midsection.

A sharp grunt escaped him as she bashed him with her shield, knocking him even further off balance. 

Another blow from the stun rod was all it took to down him.

“A truly fierce clash! Tokoyami Fumikage is unable to move! Yaoyorozu Momo advances to round two!”

She’d done it. A breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding escaped her.

“Are you ok Tokoyami-kun!?”

“Ughr. Just my pride… Excellent match Vice-president…”

\---

“Stun rods and flash grenades, wonder where she picked that strategy up?” Jiro said, side eyeing the source of those tactics.

“It’s a mystery.” He said with a smile. He hadn’t explicitly told her anything, but he’d apparently lead by example this time. .

They turned as Yaoyorozu made her way back to her seat.

“Nice work,” Shoji said with a nod.

“Thank you! I wasn’t sure I would be able to win but-”

Her eyes found their way to Nathan.

“Thank you.”

“I didn’t do anything. You carried me, remember? It’s only natural that you’d be able to pull a victory here.”

“We’ll see how long that holds out! You’ll be fighting each other next round!” Mina said with a mischievous grin. 

Yaoyorozu’s victory turned bittersweet. Sure she’d defeated Tokoyami, but Nathan was a different story. Had he demonstrated any weaknesses in combat she could exploit? Not to her knowledge. All of his deficiencies seemed to strike him during non combat situations. It was almost as if he’d been optimized for combat at the detriment of normal everyday living.

“You’ll be fine. Win or lose, that was an extremely impressive showing.”

“Who’s up next?” Jiro asked.

“Kirishima and Tetsutetsu,” Nathan supplied.

“Thoughts?” Shoji asked.

“Got a coin to flip? It’s basically a mirror match. It’ll be a good brawl probably.”

Unfortunately Nathan did not know either of them as well as he wanted to. He wasn’t sure who was a better fighter. Whoever could punch through the other’s defensive quirk would be the winner here.

They watched as the match started and quickly devolved into a punch up each of them landing hammer blows on the other until they finally knocked each other out at the exact same time.

“I guess sometimes coins land on their side,” Nathan muttered, “How are they going to decide that?”

“I’m sure they’ll think of something. What’s next?”

“Bakugo and Uraraka.”

All eyes fell on Nathan as he ran the matchup in his head.

“Oof. Well. Uraraka has the drive to beat him… I just don’t know if she has the quirk for it.”

“Maybe you should have tried to give her some advice?” Jiro said, “I mean she is your friend right?”

“More Midoriya’s than mine, but… Unless someone asks I’m one to hold my tongue. Unsolicited advice can be the wrong thing to offer sometimes.”

Yaoyorozu nodded along. She was glad Nathan hadn’t given explicit instructions on how to defeat Tokoyami. It wouldn’t have felt like she had earned her victory otherwise. She could only imagine Uraraka would feel the same.

They watched as the two took to the field. Bakugo truly held nothing back, attacking with all of his might despite the discrepancy between the output of their quirks.

But.

“Oh that’s clever,” Nathan said.

“He’s just beating the tar out of her, how is that-” Jiro snapped before she noticed Nathan pointing up.

Her eyes followed.

“Holy hell.”

As Bakugo continued to attack, Uraraka would use her quirk on the debris, gathering a large arsenal of rubble to drop on top of him at the opportune moment.

“Doesn’t she have a weight limit? She’s really giving it her all…” Nathan said as he watched.

Finally Uraraka attacked, releasing her quirk and dropping that storm of debris.

Unfortunately.

Bakugo was not one to go silently.

He’d been anticipating something.

So he had plenty of power stored up to blow away that entire shower.

“Well shit. He really is quite strong…”

Bakugo took up a stance to continue but Uraraka simply collapsed. 

It was a bit of an anti-climax but Uraraka had clearly made an impression.

“I guess he’s not one to take it easy on girls huh?” Mina muttered.

“An opponent is an opponent,” Nathan said dismissively.

“I already know you’re merciless Relnor-san!”

“Now to decide the tie between Kirishima and Tetsutetsu! An arm wrestling match!” Midnight announced as the two boys reentered the ring. Cementoss quickly created a platform for them allowing them to duke it out once again.

“Midoriya and Todoroki are up after this…” Yaoyorozu said, “Hopefully whatever was eating Todoroki earlier has passed… For Midoriya’s sake.”

“I wonder…” Nathan muttered to himself.

Would Midoriya choose to defeat Todoroki and move forward, or would he try to save him?

Exactly what kind of hero would he turn into?

Eventually Kirishima managed to claim victory allowing him to advance.

“Almost all 1-A huh?” Nathan said, “Shiozaki-san’s the only one left that’s not in our class.”

“Oh. Yeah. I thought it’d be a little more even I guess but most of 1-B got eliminated in the last round…”

“Alright everyone! It’s time to start off round two! Midoriya Izuku verses Todoroki Shoto!”

“Come on Midoriya…” Nathan muttered.

The match started with Todoroki’s signature wave of frost which Midoriya blew away with a flick of his finger.

“Damn Midoriya really does have a ridiculous quirk doesn’t he?”

“His finger’s broken from that though,” Nathan said, “He’s only going to have so many of those shots before he can’t attack like that anymore.”

In the time they’d been speaking he’d used two more blasts. Todoroki advanced mercilessly, trying to close the gap and freeze Midoriya solid, but the boy was simply too evasive.

He’d already used up all the fingers on his right hand.

He’d already used up his left arm defending from that last attack.

But Todoroki was slowing down.

Was his ice getting to him already? No wonder he always made a point to end fights in an instant. Even so Midoriya’s options were severely limited.

He rushed in and punched Todoroki square in the gut, but it did little to topple the boy.

Midoriya was screaming. He was fighting with everything he had.

Nathan recognized that self destructive drive to push forward.

At one point in his life he’d held that same fierce determination to push forward no matter how badly injured he was.

Even now he could still reach it when his life was on the line.

But…

‘I want to live’ could only carry him through life or death situations.

So what was carrying Midoriya to destroy himself so thoroughly?

Was this the kind of hero he wanted to be?

Todoroki was cornered.

He was uncertain.

He was so caught up in himself that he couldn’t fight properly.

So Midoriya swooped in and loosened those bonds.

Everyone heard it.

“It’s your power!”

That was all it took.

Fire exploded from Todoroki.

Nathan hissed sharply.

“It’s over. Midoriya can’t beat him if he’s going to finally stop holding himself back.”

But was beating him even Midoriya’s goal? He looked satisfied with the fact that Todoroki had put a crack in that icy shell he hid under.

A large fire man took the time to shout some truly empty motivational speech at the boy.

“Is that Todoroki’s dad? Good lord.” Jiro said under her breath.

Suddenly his reluctance to use fire made a lot more sense.

“If Midoriya pushes himself any harder he’s gonna be seriously messed up!” Mina shouted.

Their attention turned back to the ring.

Those two competitors were rearing back for their final attacks.

They poured everything they had into their respective blows.

It was a truly massive explosion.

Midnight and Cementoss tried to dull the blow but even then.

Nathan was out of his seat, desperately scanning for Midoriya’s lifeforce.

He found it just before the smoke cleared.

“I’ve gotta go!” He called out before rushing out of his seat.

Midoriya was seriously injured. He wasn’t sure if there was anything he could do but… Midoriya was his friend.

\---

“Well well. Here he is.” Sherlock said as his eyes locked onto the closest screen.

Chaldea’s cafeteria went from bustling to dead silent the moment Midoriya and Todoroki set foot in the ring.

“It won’t be a pretty ending,” Wise King Gilgamesh said before drinking from his chalice.

“No, no I doubt it will be but… Will it not a sight to behold?” Old man Li Shuwen said, gaze equally transfixed on the monitor.

“They’re so similar it’s frightening sometimes…” Nitocris muttered, “He does not value victory. His true core is ‘Saving’ so he’ll throw something like that away the first chance he gets.”

“That alone could make a fine hero, but he is a young boy destroying himself with a power he can barely hold. Which end will he meet first? Destruction, or control?” Ivan the Terrible’s low voice rumbled across the table as that massive Servant watched on.

“Or both? Like what happened with Master?”  
“Aye… Or both… We should pray that he does not have to withstand the same torrent Master did…”

“That’s the benefit to the world Master saved. Sure there will be strife and turmoil. Such things push this world forward and are therefore unavoidable but he will never have to face terror the same way Master did…”

“IT'S YOUR POWER!”

“Hoh! There it is.” Sherlock said as all of Chaldea erupted in applause.

“Much much too similar…” Li shook his head with a proud smile on his face, “Now then. Can Master be pulled towards him or will he be pulled towards Master?”

“It’s hard to say… Perhaps they can meet somewhere in the middle. I think that would be best.” Nitocris said with a nod.

Sherlock wanted to agree with her, but Midoriya was still so young. Well. They were both young, but Nathan’s experiences far outweighed his. If there was any justice in the world Midoriya would save Nathan from the endless weight he shouldered...

\---

Nathan ran into several familiar faces as he rushed towards the medical room.

Despite being up next, Iida was running alongside Uraraka and Tsuyu.

Then again given the state of the arena he probably had time.

They reached the first aid room in short order, slamming the door open and shouting for Midoriya.

An almost skeletal man stood at the side of Midoriya’s bed. The boy’s adrenaline had clearly run out, leaving him in a paralyzing amount of pain.

Seeing him that heavily bandaged stabbed into Nathan’s heart. Once again he had to consider how many times he’d been left in a similar state.

“You guys… What about the next match?” Midoriya said weakly.

“It’s been delayed to prepare the arena for combat,” Iida supplied.

“Midoriya please for once in your life worry about yourself,” Nathan said. If a single Chaldean ever found out he’d said something like that he’d never hear the end of it. 

“All of you out! It’s good that you’re concerned for your friend but he’s being prepped for surgery!” Recovery Girl shouted. Somehow this caught the other three off guard. Nathan for his part was already out of the room the second Recovery Girl advanced. He’d had enough experiences with Nightingale to know that medical professionals would just kick your ass if you didn’t listen to them.

It was unfortunate that he hadn’t been allowed to assess Midoriya’s damage himself but he didn’t want to slow his surgery.

“Iida you should probably get going,” Tsuyu spoke up.

“... Right. It would do him no good to know I lost my match worrying over him,” Iida said with a bow before leaving the group.

“I’ll probably hang around here. No sense in returning to my seat then immediately having to come back down for my own match,” Nathan said with a smile.

They didn’t say anything but Uraraka and Tsuyu looked somewhat relieved at that declaration.

“We’ll see you later then. Good luck with your match,” Uraraka nodded.

“Thank you.”

He sent them off with a wave before taking his place leaning against the wall.

That skeletal looking man exited shortly after Nathan settled in.

“Even you got kicked out huh?” Nathan said conversationally. He wasn’t entirely sure who this person was. He’d been training to try and identify individuals by their lifeforce alone but he was not particularly skilled in that regard. As such he could tell this man was familiar but he had no idea who he actually was.

“Ah. Hello there young man… Is Midoriya a friend of yours?”

“Yes.”

“He’s in good hands, there’s no need to worry excessively.”

“I know. My match is next though so I figured I’d stay here for a little bit.”

“I see.”

An awkward silence fell over them.

“I can’t say I haven’t been where he is…” Nathan began again, “I hope he doesn’t have to push himself as far as I did…” 

He held his right arm out. Losing limbs was not enough to stop him. Rather he was not allowed to stop until much later. He hoped he could keep Midoriya from walking down that path but he had no ground to stand on in that regard.

After all, he’d jumped even further off the deep end.

“I fear… A fierce fire has been lit under him… He was pushed perhaps too quickly… And this damage was done before he could be slowed down…”

Nathan nodded. He was familiar with that feeling. Being pushed into situations he wasn't ready for and coming out of it missing something was an all too common occurrence in Chaldea.

However.

Nobody would be anywhere if he hadn’t been pushed beyond his limits.

Todoroki wouldn’t have smiled like that if Midoriya hadn’t pushed himself beyond his limits.

There was value in it, enough to make Nathan hesitate.

But how far was too far?

Nathan had never been able to answer that question. He always pushed until everything was safe regardless of how much damage he took.

He was the exact wrong person to try and stop Midoriya.

The announcement of Iida’s victory washed through the stadium.

“I’m up… Please. Watch over him while I’m gone.”

“I will young man. Good luck on your match.”

“Thank you,” Nathan gave him a bow before rushing off.

All Might watched his back as he ran.

Nathan Relnor was a glimpse at a potential future for Midoriya. That boy carried a pain that All Might could only see the faint edges of. If he was to help Midoriya… Maybe he needed to start by understanding Relnor. 

\---

He stepped into the arena.

“Is Midoriya ok?” Yaoyorozu called as Present Mic began their introductions.

“He’s in surgery now, beyond that I don’t have anything to report.”

Yaoyorozu nodded.

“READY!?”

She didn’t have time to worry about Midoriya.

She was about to face the ultimate test of her abilities.

He would no doubt attempt to make the first move.

Anticipate his actions and move to counter them. She queued up a grenade.

“Start!”

He exploded forward as she created her ordinance and threw it.

She could not use the same tactics she’d used against Tokoyami and expect a win.

Not from an opponent like Nathan.

The grenade exploded at his feet as he passed over it. A sticky substance caught his legs and nearly caused him to fall to the ground face first. 

With her opponent locked in place she took a step back and prepared her next attack. As much as she wished she could simply use a stun rod to take him out she knew using his own tactics against him would quickly result in a loss.

A sharp burst of static met her ears. An arc fusion blade cut through the strands of glue that held Nathan in place. 

She didn’t have nearly as much time as she wanted.

He pulled himself a few inches off the ground and darted forward again.

She created a large net with sticky orbs at its edges and threw it at him.

But he had yet to deactivate his arc fusion blade.

He slashed the net straight in half and dove through the opening he’d made.

His shoulder smashed into two wooden shields she’d made in haste.

But.

Electricity surged through her body. He’d planted his left foot right on top of her right.

Her vision shook and her senses were in complete disarray. Another blow smashed into her chest and she folded, only barely managing to maintain consciousness through it all.

“Relnor Nathan advances to the semi-finals!”

It hadn’t been enough. 

Overcoming someone like Nathan required much more…

“Damnit…” She swore as feeling and sight returned to her.

“Sorry. Here.” He offered her his left hand which she gladly took, “Do you need to head to medical?”

“I… I think I’m alright,” She muttered.

“Alright. Let’s head back then.”

\---

On their way back to their seats they ran into another group.

“You’re already out?” Nathan asked, frankly stunned.

Midoriya’s right arm was in a sling and heavily bandaged. He was wobbly on his feet but he was standing.

“Y-Yeah! Everything went fine!” Midoriya said quickly. He and Iida had clearly just run into each other and were standing near the entrance to the stadium seating watching Kirishima and Bakugo go at it.

“Good. Good…” Nathan said. The smile that accompanied his words set Midoriya off.

There was nothing overwhelming about it. It was almost subdued and empty.

“Are you ok Relnor-san?” He asked.

Nathan could only laugh at him.

“You are in no position to ask that question! Just like I’m in no position to tell you to maybe tone it down a little. I was worried about you.”

Midoriya understood instantly. He nodded and gave Nathan a resolute smile.

“I’m sorry for worrying you! I’m fine really.”

“Not comforting but I’ll take what I can get. You ready to face me in the finals Iida?” He changed the topic quickly. There was nothing brooding over Midoriya could do for either of them right now so it was best to deflect.

“Yes! I’m going to use everything Midoriya taught us during his fight with Todoroki to win!”

“Looks like you’ll be up against Bakguo,” Yaoyorozu said, her attention having been on the match for most of the conversation.

“Mh.”

An endurance match against someone with that kind of attack power was out of the question. Kirishima was being completely overwhelmed.

“D-do you want any advice Relnor-san?” Midoriya asked cautiously.

“No. I’ll be fine.”

Briefly, Midoriya recalled that Nomu and Nathan’s completely unflappable attitude towards facing it down.

“Of course! We’ll be pulling for you Relnor-san!” Iida said enthusiastically.

“Bakugo Katsuki moves onto the Semi-Finals!” Present Mic announced.

“I’d better get moving. Good luck on your match Relnor-san,” Iida said as he excused himself.

“To you as well.”

“I better head back to my seat, you two coming?” Yaoyorozu asked.

“Oh! Sure!”

\---

Iida did not fare much better against Todoroki than anyone else had. Getting into melee range against someone who could instantly imprison you in ice was just not ideal.

Once the ice thawed it was Nathan’s turn yet again.

Bakugo stood across from him, fuming as he usually did.

It occurred to Nathan that they’d never actually directly spoken before.

Sure Bakugo was yelling at him during the obstacle race but…

“You better show up. There’s no victory worth taking from someone who’s half assing it like you’ve been doing.” Bakugo said plainly as their introductions played.

“I can only do so much before my quirk becomes lethal. I could stop your heart and kill you the second they say go but-”

“That’s not what I fuckin mean and you know it. You’ve been half assing everything since you set foot in UA. Why do you think everyone’s gunning for that fucking nerd and not you?”

“There’s a reason?”

“Che-”

“START!!”

Bakguo launched himself forward, bouncing unpredictably on his explosions as he approached Nathan.

Nathan’s right arm lit up, sparks scattering everywhere as Bakugo reared back and unleashed a truly massive explosion. He hoped that quantity would be enough to seal Nathan’s movements. With fire all around him there was nowhere for that nimble boy to dart off to. 

Nathan blitzed forward, keeping low and sliding just under the blast and Bakugo himself.

Bakugo was out of the way before Nathan could properly counter attack.

How he didn’t see Nathan advancing through that was beyond him but...

“You better start actually trying or else I’m gonna kill you!” Bakguo called out, “I can’t stand you! You’re too fucking strong for a goddamn stepping stone! How did you even get here!?”

“The hell do you even mean?” Nathan attacked, electricity arced towards the boy, striking him out of the air as he moved to approach yet again.

Bakugo hit the ground rolling but quickly hopped out of it and unleashed another explosion.

Had the voltage been too low to stun him or was Bakugo forcing his body to move despite the pain surging through him?

“You’ve got fire I’ll give you that much,” Nathan said after rocketing out of the way of Bakugo’s attack. He returned the favor, striking him with lightning yet again.

But once more that boy refused to fall.

“One of us fucking better! It’s the semi-finals and you’re still pissing around!”

Nathan winced.

An explosion knocked him back the next moment.

He pushed his way through the force of the blast, scattering electricity across a wide area in an effort to stop Bakugo from blasting him out of the air.

“You’re just a fuckin wet blanket! You’re only here because you have to be! That’s why everyone is passing you over for that shitty nerd!”

Why were his words so effective?

Nathan planted his feet on the ground before immediately having to dodge another explosion. This time he closed in, swinging his right in a wide hook. Bakguo erupted from the smoke of his previous attack and struck Nathan’s side with a devastating explosion.

Perhaps Bakugo’s first misstep.

Just because he lacked fire did not mean he lacked durability.

Nathan did not even flinch as part of his uniform burned away. 

For an instant Bakugo was stunned by what he saw.

Electricity surged through him in that single moment of hesitation.

He screamed as he stumbled and fell. 

But.

Still.

“I’m going to be number one…” Bakugo ground out as he pulled himself to his feet, “I don’t care what you’ve been through! I will defeat you!” 

Nathan held his left hand over his side in an effort to cover the hole in his uniform.

“I won’t let some shitty nobody who doesn’t want anything stand in my way.”

Small explosions danced across his palms like sparks.

He was building up something. 

So this was what it was like to stand against pure determination? No. This was far far from the first time Nathan had done this.

It was just one of the few times where his own determination was not strong enough to push him forward.

Bakugo had a firm desire and a future he was chasing with everything he was.

Every time Nathan looked at his future all he saw was uncertainty and fear.

“You might be right. But I do have a tiny smattering of pride left.”

He straightened up with an unsettling crack.

As Bakugo reared back a terrifying bolt of lightning struck him in the gut.

This time he did not get back up.

Nathan could feel his opponent’s anger from where he was but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

“Nathan Relnor advances to the finals!”

He won but there was no joy in it.

He knew everything Bakugo was right. But...

_ “I will keep moving towards tomorrow until I find what I’m looking for…” _

He spoke in English under his breath before turning to leave the arena.

\---

“Oh. You’re in here too.” Nathan said as he entered the waiting room.

Todoroki looked at him from his place at the table.

It felt eerie when he thought about it. They’d started the day all crammed in this room.

And now it was just the two of them.

“There are supposed to be separate waiting rooms…” Todoroki said quietly.

Were there? Nathan couldn’t remember… He’d been in such a hurry to replace his uniform that he hadn’t really been paying attention.

“It’s fine isn’t it?” He said, taking a seat opposite his opponent, “At the end of the day we’re still students in the same class.”

“I suppose…”

They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment before Nathan decided to try and open up a little.

“We’re really a mess aren’t we…”

“We?”

“You’re struggling with it too aren’t you? What you want to become?”

Todoroki’s silence was the only answer Nathan needed.

“It’s fine to be uncertain I think… There’s always tomorrow. But. When clashing with people like Midoriya and Bakugo… I wonder if that’s enough.”

Todoroki nodded along but said nothing.

But that was ok.

“I don’t know where I’m going. And I’m scared of what the next day will bring, but I’ve lost too much to stop. So. Let’s drag each other forward kicking and screaming.”

Todoroki looked up and saw Nathan had extended his gloved left hand to him.

He paused for a moment before firmly taking that offered hand.

“May the best idiot win.”

“Speak for yourself,” Todoroki said with something close to humor.

“Todoroki-san your match is - oh you’re both here!” An event organizer spoke as they poked their head inside the room.

“Alright. Let’s go then.”

\---

Yaoyorozu watched on furtively.

“At least the guy we lost to is in the finals right Yaomomo?” Mina said cheerfully.

“Oh. Um. Yes!”

“Something on your mind?” Shoji asked.

“Yes… Well… Maybe?”

“What’s eatin at you?” Jiro piped in between bites of churro.

“Nathan’s quirk… By itself isn’t that strong. I would say Midoriya, Bakguo, and Todoroki all have more powerful quirks… But imagining the fights in my head? I cannot picture him losing.”

Mina paused and mulled over the idea herself.

Was Nathan weaker than the three of them? Yeah maybe? He couldn’t punch through a robot like Midoriya could without his railgun. If he’d been up against that barrage of debris would he have been able to clear it away like Bakugo? And then there was Todoroki…

But the other half of Yaoyorozu’s statement was also true.

“The guy’s insane,” Bakugo said roughly from his place in front of them. Usually his instincts were sharp enough that they at least gave him a direction to go in. But when he squared off against Nathan? Nothing. A complete blank. 

He had already lost the moment he walked into the ring. There was no doubt in his mind that that fight went almost exactly how Nathan had pictured it in his head. The only thing he’d managed to do was get up a few extra times… “Half and Half is gonna lose. He’s strong enough to win but he won’t be able to do it. To beat someone like that lunatic… You have to crush him before he can crush you and he already knows exactly how to crush you by lookin at you once.”

And even then… He had trouble imagining a scenario where that would work…

Scars like that  _ should not exist _ and yet his torso had been littered with them...

It was the first time Yaoyorozu had ever heard Bakugo say anything reasonable, a fact Kaminari and Kirishima immediately pointed out.

But he wasn’t wrong. 

Nathan was an opponent that made up for his deficiencies by putting together a devastatingly accurate read of your abilities and your personality in a matter of moments. 

For perhaps the dozenth time she wondered.

Where did skills like that come from? 

\---

Standing opposite Todoroki certainly felt a lot different than watching other people do it.

They both had a relatively good idea of what the other was capable of at this point. Or at least Todoroki probably thought he did.

“We’ve reached the finals at last! The top student of the freshmen class will be decided here!”

Nathan began building up power in his right arm. If he was a betting man Todoroki was going to open big.

“Todoroki Shoto verses Nathan Relnor!”

His right arm was going to be shot after this match, but he had no more matches to fight. He could go all out here without worrying about what came next.

“BEGIN!”

A massive wave of ice rushed towards him.

Nathan’s right hand split open and formed an arc fusion blade just before it hit him. The heat from that blade disrupted the attack as it struck, creating a small pocket of free space within the ice. 

He poured more power into it, extending it further and further.

And then he swung.

That blade of light tore through the ice like it wasn’t even there. Nathan shot out, not wanting to be buried in the aftermath of his attack. He stopped flooding power into his right arm, allowing that blade to fall apart so he could take evasive action.

Another wave of ice rushed out, but this time he charged right over it.

Todoroki raised his left arm as Nathan cleared that attack. His eyes were locked on Nathan’s right. So when a bolt of electricity exploded out of his left leg Todoroki was caught somewhat off guard.

He did not have time to think. Ice began to explode out before his body seized up. 

Nathan pushed off the stadium giving himself a spin as he fell right on top of Todoroki. This allowed him to impart a good deal of force when he punched him right in the face, interrupting his attack and sending him crashing towards the arena edge.

Unfortunately it didn’t have quite enough power to send him all the way over.

Nathan shook the small layer of ice that had formed on his left hand off. Even after receiving a one two punch like that Todoroki had managed to defend himself.

“You really aren’t an opponent I can take lightly huh?” Nathan called out with a huge smile on his face.

Todoroki just pulled himself off the ground. He’d hesitated. Even though he’d been caught off guard he should have just attacked with his fire right away.

But.

There just wasn’t enough time.

He couldn’t shake free just yet.

Even after coming so far.

Nathan zoomed forward, hovering just off the ground to stop from getting tripped up.

A wall of ice shot up between them.

Flashes of Anastasia and Skadi filled Nathan’s mind, allowing him to act on pure reflex.

It wasn’t a large wall, or even very tall, so he simply vaulted over it.

Todoroki was already starting to slow down due to the cold, so he did not react in time.

Electricity showered down on top of him. He fell against his own ice wall as his body twitched uncontrollably.

Fire erupted from his left side but he couldn’t make his body move in any meaningful way.

A sharp thud coming from behind him told him Nathan had hit the ground.

If he couldn’t move he would just blast his fire down and hope to push him out of the ring.

If Nathan retreated there was a chance he might retreat right over the edge of the arena. 

He felt a hand grip his ankle despite the fact that the area was covered in flames. 

He was flying through the air in the next moment.

Thinking fast, he put up another ice wall, stopping himself only an instant before he left the ring. 

A bolt of electricity surged through his body before he had time to collect himself. 

Nathan could barely hold his right arm steady.

But his opponent was unconscious.

He’d won.

“WHAT A FIGHT! THE WINNER OF THE SPORTS FESTIVAL TOURNAMENT IS CLASS 1-A’S RELNOR NATHAN!!!”

The audience exploded in applause as Nathan took a moment to collect himself. His left arm and his legs were lightly burned, but it was well worth the victory. He quickly shoved his left hand into his pocket out of a primal fear that his glove might be damaged enough to slip off.

After coming so far without using an ounce of magic he wouldn’t allow some last minute slip up alert the whole world that he was a Master.

“Congratulations young man, let’s get your injuries checked out while we get the awards ceremony set up.” Midnight said, approaching him.

\---

“Let me see your left hand just to make sure everything’s ok.”

Recovery Girl just stared at him while he held an extremely defensive posture.

He couldn’t…

“It’s fine. It was in the glove. I’ll get it checked out when I get back to Chaldea.”

“Young man.” She said sharply.

Why was it always medical professionals that made him fear for his life the most?

Well…

There was no one else here…

Maybe…  
He held out his left hand slowly. Every instinct was screaming that he should just run away but… 

“I have trouble getting the glove off myself… I’d like some tape or something so it doesn’t fall off during the awards ceremony…”

“It is a little damaged, but what’s so special about it that you need to-”

The question died in her throat as she removed that black glove.

“YOUNG MAN!?”

“It’s fine. It’s always like this.”

He held his hand palm up to try and hide his command seals even with the glove removed.

But there was no hiding the permanent damage he’d done to it.

Overusing his mana had actively necrosed his fingers.

And before that…

He had beaten a demon god to death with his bare hands.

He had fought Edmond Dantes in that eternal prison.

His hand bore those kinds of curses so it was only natural that it was alarming to look at.

His fingers were blackened in waves stretching half way down his hand. They looked gnarled and unnatural, almost as if they no longer belonged to a human.

“They still have all the functionality I need out of my hand. All my nerves still work for the most part. Can I please get my glove and some tape…”

He felt extremely uncomfortable without it on. 

“How did you do this to yourself?” She asked, taking his hand in her own. He flinched at the direct contact but managed to calm himself enough that he didn’t immediately rip his hand away.

It was trembling.

She could only see it now that she was looking at it so closely but that hand was trembling.

It was trembling and so so warm...

“I-” He had to stop himself. He was about to answer her honestly. Something about her presence made him want to open up. But.

“I can’t remember.”

Her eyes traveled up his arm.

It was littered with scars.

He’d been torn apart by something. Multiple times from the looks of things.

She gave his palm a quick smooch, starting the process of healing off all of his burn damage. 

“We’ll get your entire arm bandaged up too…” She said as she gently helped him back into the glove. 

“Thank you.”

“Relnor-kun. If there’s anything you need to talk about my office is always open.”

“I’m fine. Thank you for the offer though.”

\---

“Well I’ll be damned. He actually went and fucking won the whole thing.”

“Guess you better get to filing some forms.”

“FUCK. YEAH I GUESS!?” She shouted perhaps excessively loudly. His performance in the semi-finals had been worrying but he’d picked back up in the finals. All of his matches were short but that was to be expected. He was overwhelmingly stronger than all of his opponents in terms of technique and experience. 

You did not climb to those ridiculous heights with talent alone. His defeat of that explosion kid showed that much.

“You made the bet Rumi!”

“I fuckin know what I said! I’ll make the offer!”

\---

It was certainly awkward standing there. They’d made a small platform. for the top three contenders. Bakguo stood fuming in third, Todoroki seemed indifferent to the proceedings on the second place platform.

And then there was Nathan. It was only now that he realized exactly what he’d done.

He bulldozed through every single one of his peers and cemented himself as the sports festival winner… He hadn’t even thought about actually winning the damn thing when he declared he would defeat everyone else.

Iida could have been on the third place stand but apparently he’d had to leave in a hurry. Midoriya had been speaking very quickly as he ran it by him.

Something about a villain attack...

He’d have to check to see if Chaldea knew any more, or if they could extend a helping hand medically.

“It’s time to confer the medals! And here to present them-”

“IT IS I!”

Nathan looked up and spotted him as he leaped from the top of the stadium.

All Might landed with a resounding crash before the three of them.

“AND I AM HERE WITH THE MEDALS!”

“Our hero All Might!”

After a brief exchange of looks with Midnight who had talked over his intro he began to pass out the medals. He gave a brief speech to both Bakugo and Todoroki as he handed them their prizes.

“Relnor my boy, you declared your intention and came all the way with it! A truly impressive showing!”

“Thank you All Might,” Nathan said with a small bow. His left arm was bandaged and his right arm was slightly deflated. He’d stopped running power through it to prevent it from constantly spewing out sparks due to the horrible shape it was in. “I just wanted to bring out the best in everyone. It was a difficult fight for sure.”

“Well then! There you have it!” He said as he hung the medal around his neck.

All Might started his final speech of the tournament, but Nathan was honestly almost completely checked out. It had been a long day for him. Fighting for this long wasn’t something he’d had to do recently after all.

As All Might set up the audience for UA’s catch phrase only to say something different and throw everyone off he looked up to the clouds.

Had he done the right thing by climbing to the top even though he had no defined goal he was working towards?

What did he even want now?

\---

It was late afternoon by the time they made it back to their homeroom. It was hard to imagine but the Sports Festival had just been a day activity for them.

“You’ll have the next two days off. Make sure to rest and relax. When you get back I’ll have organized all the nominations that are starting to come in,” Aizawa said simply. 

Iida was still not present.

He wondered if there was anything he could do for him but… For now he needed to rest.

“Excellent work today. You’re dismissed.” 

With that the exhausted class stumbled their way out of UA. 

As he walked he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

“Hello?”

“Senpai!”

The familiar voice of one Mashu Kyrielight came through the other end.

All of his stress left his body immediately just from hearing her say that one word.

“Mashu! How are you?”

“I’m well! Goredolf gathered a lot of the former Chaldea staff to watch the sports festival!”

“W- Wasn’t it early for you guys!?”

“Yeah but we wanted to see how you were doing over in Japan! Congratulations on your win!”

He heard a commotion on the other end.

“OF COURSE HE WON HE’S OUR BOY!!!”

“Are you still with everyone?”

“Yes! We’re catching up! You should call everyone more often! They worry about you!”

“Ah. Sorry. I’ve been kind of scattered with UA and such lately. I’ll make sure to call everyone in the next couple of days. We’re off after all of that nonsense.”

“They’ll be happy to hear from you. I’m just glad… I’m glad to see that you’re doing ok.”

“Thank you Mashu. How are things on your end?”

“About the same! I’ve been helping Goredolf around Clocktower. We haven’t heard anything new about your mission either so I assume everything is going well.”

“It’s quiet. Nobody’s made any noticeable moves in the last month or so. I’m starting to wonder if we were sent on a wild goose chase.”

“Well. I’m sure you’ll be able to resolve everything without a problem. I should get going! It was nice to talk to you again senpai!”

“Likewise.”

The call ended with an audible click, Nathan pocketing his phone.

“Who were to talkin to that left you with that kind of smile!?” Mina said from beside him.

She’d snuck up on him while he was talking but he was used to people suddenly appearing next to him so he didn’t jump in surprise.

“Oh. I guess she’s sort of like my adoptive big sister? She really helped me out during my time at Chaldea. She moved to London last year though and I haven’t talked to her since I started attending UA so it’s been a bit.” She was right, he needed to get better about calling everyone.

He was so used to having everyone there that the extra step of having to put time aside to call them instead of just seeing them at lunch threw him off.

“I see I see! I thought maybe you had a girlfriend you weren’t telling anyone about!”

“No no, nothing like that. She’s a little out of our age range,” He said with a chuckle.

As they reached the gate Nathan spotted his ride.

“Oh a carriage! Fancy!” Mina said, “I’ve never seen one pulled by bulls though!”

“That’s how it be sometimes,” Nathan said dryly. “I’ll see you later Ashido-san!”

“Later Relnor-san!”

With that Nathan climbed into the back of the carriage and beheld the occupant.

_“It’s not nice to keep a queen waiting,”_ Medb said sharply.

_ “I’m tired from the sports festival. Also Mashu called and I wanted to talk to her for a bit.” _

He felt the vehicle start moving once he got seated comfortably.

_ “I see. Well. Excellent work at the festival Master! All of us were watching with bated breath. By the way you will personally have to tell a few of them not to murder that explosion boy.” _

He let out a loud groan. That was going to be a hassle. He could understand where they were coming from but sometimes they tended to overstep their bounds.

But that was a problem for later.

_ “Everyone? I heard there was a hero that was badly wounded in a villain attack today.” _

_ “Oh yes. Someone or another responded to his emergency call but apparently the villain was gone by the time they arrived. It didn’t seem worth my attention.” _

_ “Mh. I’ll ask Sherlock about it later.” _

_ “Now then Master! You deserve a reward for coming in first place! Ask anything of me and I will provide!” _

He knew where she was trying to lead him, she was fairly transparent when it came to her wants after all. But.

_ “I’m just tired. I’m gonna have to replace my arm when we get back and I want to see if I can visit Iida-san if I can manage it…” _

_ “Very well then. Lay down. Rest a while.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that! What did you think? Did you enjoy the sports festival? I had some doubts about how I was going to take it but in the end I decided to go the way I went and have things to pay off later. For now though I hope you're ready for the Work Study/Hero Killer arc! It was a lot of fun to work on specifically because I decided to heavily feature one of my favorite MHA characters.
> 
> Till next time!


	11. Shout your name and (push forward)(open up)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome back! I'm still lagging behind production wise so updating once every two weeks is here to stay I think. The chapter I'm working on is nearly done I just need to finish setting up a few scenes and actually focus on writing for once. I hope you're ready to see some pro heroes! And I hope I did them some justice!

“This really is delicious, thank you for the meal.” Nathan gave a grateful bow to his most generous host.

Midoriya Inko just beamed at the boy.

“I’m glad you like it! When Izuku said that he was bringing a friend over today I have to admit I panicked a little bit!”

The two sat opposite Midoriya’s mother at the table, Midoriya himself struggling somewhat since his right hand was still heavily bandaged.

It was a struggle Nathan was very familiar with.

“It really was amazing watching you two compete! I fainted at least seven times after the human cavalry battle!”

They really had gone a little bit overboard hadn’t they?

The sports festival was indeed quite the large event. Nathan had been recognized at the convenience store he frequented. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant feeling but he could get used to it.

“I hope it wasn’t too stressful, although I can understand your concern.”

A sideways glance met Midoriya.

“You have approximately zero room to talk,” Midoriya said with a dry smile.

Nathan just laughed.

“I suppose you’re right. How’s the arm doing?”

“It should be mostly back to normal by the time we go back tomorrow. I don’t know how you do it Relnor-san…”

“Lots of practice. It’s been several years.”

“Several years since what dear?”

“Ah. I used to be right handed before I lost my arm so I’m relating very heavily to Midoriya’s struggle over there.”

Inko’s face froze.

That right arm was a prosthetic? Did that mean his eye and leg were missing too?

She decided to change the topic.

“Your parents must be very proud of you for your performance! Taking first place! You’re the talk of the town Relnor-kun!”

It was Nathan’s turn to freeze. He recovered quickly but it was very noticeable. He hid his hands from view and broke eye contact.

“I uh. I don’t actually live with my parents. I’m over at Chaldea full time. Truth be told I’m not even… I don’t know my biological family.”

Inko’s heart dropped like a rock. She let her instincts take over, shuffling to their side of the table and taking the reserved boy into a large hug.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to draw up such a dreary topic. But. I am certain they are very proud of you wherever they are.”

He was stiff in her arms, like it was taking everything he had to hold something back. 

“Thank you,” He said carefully, doing his best to restrain his emotions.

“Sorry about that dear! Anyway! I’m glad you two have been getting along so well, little Izuku hasn’t brought a friend over in ages you know!” She said as she broke away.

Midoriya made a few noises of protest as his mother doted on him, but Nathan was still trying to sort his emotions out. 

He clenched his gloved left hand.

Was… Was his mother like Midoriya’s?

He shook his head. There was no use dwelling on memories that weren’t there anymore.

“The heroes at Chaldea tell me the same thing. They were very happy that you allowed Midoriya over the other week.”

“Oh! He enjoyed that visit very much! You should invite him over again sometime! Also thank whoever made that wonderful dinner for me. I felt like a queen eating a meal that exquisite!”

“I’ll be sure to let her know you appreciated her food. She takes great pride in it,” Nathan said with a smile.

It struck Inko hard.

That smile was absolutely overflowing with love. It was almost unidentifiable just because it was such a vast emotion being expressed.

He was such a strange boy to Inko’s eye. He loved freely and unconditionally, but he was so guarded. She was left wondering the same thing most people did after interacting with him.

What exactly had happened to turn him into what he is now?

\---

“Man! I got so many comments on my way here!” Mina said excitedly.

“Yeah we’re the talk of the town!” Kaminari added, “That’s UA for you though! Participate in an event like the sports festival and suddenly you're famous!”

“I can’t imagine you had an easy time Relnor-chan,” Tsuyu said, directing her gaze to Nathan.

“Oh. I keep getting recognized at the grocery store. It’s kind of annoying. I might have one of the Chaldeans start running errands for me…”

“Wh! You won the whole thing! You’re not allowed to hole up at home after that!”

“Che-”

“Morning,” Aizawa said as he entered the room. 

“Good morning sensei!” They droned out together.

“Today’s first lesson will be a little special. We’ll be working out your Hero names today. Since you will be participating in internships in the coming days it’s best to get this done soon. As for the draft nominations, they’ll start coming in more earnestly in your second and third years. Most agencies would rather wait for you to build up a little experience before headhunting you, so these agencies that are reaching out to you in your first year are investing in your future.”

He pressed a button on his remote and the board began to display how the offers were distributed among the class.

Todoroki was at the top of the list.

Followed by Bakugo.

Nathan trailed behind both of them at a respectable third.

But.

“Eh? You won though!? Shouldn’t you have gotten the most nominations?” Yaoyorozu muttered from behind him.

“Most of mine are probably from my father’s connections,” Todoroki offered in some kind of consolation effort.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of them were intimidated by my current residence. Chaldea is a bit on the odd side so taking on a student from there would probably discourage a few people…”

Or perhaps they’d noticed his lack of drive…

“Either way, whether you’ve been nominated or not all of you will be participating in internships. You’ve all dipped your toes into the world of pro heroes during USJ so experiencing that world more directly should be even more rewarding.”

“Ah that’s why we need our hero names!” Sato exclaimed.

“Placeholder names are fine too, it just has to be appropriate,” Aizawa added before Midnight entered the classroom with her characteristic flare. Apparently she was going to be evaluating their names as they presented them to the class.

They were each handed placards to write their hero name on.

Nathan stared at the blank surface.

He’d never really considered a hero name…

Sure he had plenty of titles that he could go with, but they all related to Chaldea somewhat. He couldn’t exactly use his name to advertise the fact that he’s a Master after all.

But.

They were a huge part of his life, he didn’t want to completely leave them out.

Ah. Wait. He knew exactly where to pull his hero name from.

\---

They’d been presenting their names with mixed success.

But it was his turn now.

Nathan walked up to the podum and flipped his name plate.

“Leviathan.”

It was one of the odd names he’d picked up during his travels. Traditionally Leviathan was a sea serpent but the name had other connotations that allowed his enemies to easily lend it to him.

Leviathan was also generally a powerful bringer of chaos.

It was even associated with the gates of hell itself.

As someone who stood against the machinations of gods and men alike, he had brought chaos and ruin to those that sought to destroy him.

As a Master he commanded a legion of spirits some of which were literal gods of the underworld.

Tokoyami at least approved, giving him a small thumbs up.

“Hm. Yeah. That’s not bad at all! I’d expect that more out of a water hero but you’ve got the whole scale thing going on so it’ll work!”

“Thank you,” Nathan said before returning to his seat.

The last of the students got their names approved sans Bakugo before Aizawa decided to push things along.

“Your field work training will be one week long, everyone with nominations will receive a personalized list, everyone else will receive this list of participating agencies. Think of what you want to focus on and pick an agency that matches it. Turn them in by the end of the week.”

That only gave them two days to pick. 

Nathan began to leaf through his list.

His major deficiencies were endurance and magical ability and he sincerely doubted anyone on this list would be able to help him with one of those. Ever since USJ he’d wanted to see if he could apply his quirk solely to saving lives rather than using it almost exclusively for violence. So maybe...

His eye fell on an odd name out.

It was simply a hero name with no agency attached to it.

“Midnight-sensei?” He called out, prompting her to approach his desk, “Is this an agency or-”

“Oh.” She said upon seeing the name he was pointing to, “No. That uh. That one is a little non standard. She doesn’t have an agency or do team ups as far as I’m aware…”

Nathan’s eye narrowed, then why the hell was she asking for him? Oh well.

“Alright, thanks.”

“No problem!”

“Do you have any ideas on where you’re thinking of going Relnor-san?” Yayorozu asked as Midnight left.

“Mh. I think I have it narrowed down, but I want to look into some of these agencies after school before I pick. Most of them are a little more direct than I want…”

“Too direct?” Todoroki spoke up.

Nathan glanced over and realized Todoroki had been sitting next to Yaoyorozu for perhaps the entire school year and this was the first time he’d ever even registered it.

“Uh… Yeah. I want to try and do rescue work. I’ve got enough experience in direct combat so I want to try and broaden my horizons a little.”

Plus it would be nice to rescue people without knowing that eventually he would have to destroy them in order to save his world.

“I see…”

The day idled by as they discussed hero agencies. Nathan found that Yaoyorozu and Midoriya were both extremely useful in narrowing down his choices even more than he’d done himself.

At the end of the day he had five agencies he wanted to look into personally before making a choice. He left class by himself today, his mind occupied with the possibilities of normal human pro hero work.

But that did not mean he’d dropped his guard.

He felt it coming just in time to dodge backwards.

Something slammed into the ground before him just as he exited UA.

Hessian Lobo let out an alarmed howl as Nathan pulled himself magnetically towards the Heroic spirit.

Who would be insane enough to attack him right outside of UA?

“Nice reflexes! There’s a big difference between seeing them on tv and in person you know! Guess I made the right choice nominating you!”

She had long white hair disturbed only by large rabbit ears. She wore a white leotard with a golden crescent moon emblazoned on her chest.

“Um…” Nathan held his left arm out, signaling Hessian Lobo to stand down, “Who are you?”

“Eh? I’m Rabbit Hero Mirko! Here to pick you up for your internship!”

“I haven’t decided who I was going to intern with. Not to mention they don’t start for another-”

“Huh? Sorry? Musta got some dirt in my ears. Coulda sworn you just turned me down.”

At this point they had gathered quite the audience.

“I don’t do this kinda thing… Ever, so compliance is required! Come on. First lesson is to see if you can keep up with me!”

“I’m not allowed to use my quirk in public without a provisional-”

“You’ve got my permission! Let's go already!

With that she exploded towards the city.

He almost wanted to let her leave on her own, but she reminded him enough of a few heroic spirits that he knew that was probably a bad idea.

“Tell the others I’ll be home late I guess,” He said to the large wolf rider behind him, “I’ll let you pick me up tomorrow.”

“DUDE DUDE DUDE! WAS THAT MIRKO!?” Kaminari called out as Nathan began to charge up power in his back scales.

“Apparently. I’ll see you tomorrow Kaminari-san,”

“WAIT TAKE ME WITH YOU!”

Nathan pushed himself off of the large metal gate, grabbing every metal fixture he could see in front of him and continuing his momentum. Thankfully she hadn’t gotten too far ahead of him before taking off again. He stuck to the high ground, preferring to slingshot himself over buildings rather than weave his way through them.

It seemed to be a preference he shared with Mirko since she mostly kept to rooftops, bounding from one to the next as Nathan began to catch up.

“Damn you’re fast! That’s great! After all that whining you did I half expected you to just leave me hanging.”

“I had a feeling I would regret it if I did,” Nathan said dryly.

“DAMN RIGHT YOU WOULD!” She let out a loud laugh, “Alright time to stop playing around!”

She was gone in the next instant. She’d kicked off with enough force to damage the building under her. Nathan flooded power into his arm and leg and began to pursue, pulling hard on the buildings ahead of Mirko as she began to try to shake him in earnest.

\---

“That was fun! You’re just as good as I thought you’d be!” Mirko said, giving him a hard slap on the back.

They’d stopped at a convenience store to get some refreshments before continuing their literal rabbit chase.

“Thanks I guess?”

It was like talking to one of the Chulainns only she was a rabbit.

Bunny suit Scathach briefly entered his mind before he chased the image out with some effort. How she’d been talked into that was beyond his wildest imagination.

“Hopefully you’re as good in a scrap as you are at running around. I’m not much of a team player so you better not drag me down too much.”

“I am a first year student and you want me to keep up with you?”

“Yup.”

“You’re impossible, you know that?”

“Hah! You’re sounding like the other pros already!”

“Also could you have at least waited the extra two days for the internships to actually start?”

“Eh? I already waited two days for them to even get my nomination to you! That’s already such a waste of time! Think of this as a preview of all the great experience you’ll get workin with me!”

He hadn’t even decided who he was actually going to intern with. And yet here was this lady calling the shots loudly for him.

But.

Would it really be that bad? He had to admit, the more time he spent around her the more her presence reminded him of Chaldea. But just because it was comfortable doesn’t mean he should follow it. He was trying to distance himself from his Chaldean identity and return to being a human.

“Alright, come on, I know a place where we can go a few rounds without anybody giving us any trouble.”

“Please phrase that differently.”

“Come on! Time to see if you can fight as well as you complain!”

A pained grunt left him as she once again leaped off into the distance.

He crushed his empty water bottle in his hand and tossed it into a trashcan before giving chase.

Eventually they came to a stop in an empty field clearly meant for some kind of sport. Nothing was running currently so Mirko had apparently decided this was her personal training ground.

“Alright put up your dukes and let’s see what you’ve got!”

Nathan reinforced his body with magic. He got the distinct feeling that she was not going to hold back at all and he wanted all the durability he could get.

“And no electricity nonsense! That’s cheating!”

“That’s my quirk!”

“Don’t care! You can’t use that stuff against some people right? Might kill em! So try to take me down without it!”

He had to make a mental note to never ever let any of the celts know this woman existed.

There was little doubt that a few of his Servants were monitoring him so he hoped beyond hope that they would keep their damn mouths shut.

“You’re really not selling me on this internship,” He said, taking up a stance.

“Oh yeah!? Then why are you smiling?”

He did not have time to evaluate himself. She charged forward and delivered a powerful kick directly into his guard.

She was too strong to completely block, so he deflected it up while pulling his body down. He shot forward under her leg and reared his fist back.

He was hit with a surprising amount of force as she pulled her leg back completely reversing her momentum. He decided distance was the name of the day, again deflecting the blow and using the extra momentum it gave him to somersault backwards.

“Hooooh!”

He landed on his feet before immediately having to duck under another kick as she shot past him on his right. He rolled forward, planting his left hand half way through and swinging his legs. She would be on him in a moment so he had to already be attacking in order to keep up with her speed.

His left leg connected sending a low level current through her arm.

“What did I say-” She grabbed him just under his knee and yanked him up. He latched onto a nearby building and tried to yank himself free from her grip at an odd angle.

It did not work.

“About electricity bullshit!?”

She whirled him around slinging him as hard as she could.

He was disorientated but he caught himself all the same, grabbing nearby buildings in order to slow himself to the point where he could plant his feet safely.

“There’s always gonna be a little bit of a current going through these, they need some power to keep shape. Unless even that is a little too much for you!”

“OH YOU’RE CUTE!”

He had less than one second to guard against the knee that slammed into his chest. Thankfully he managed to get both his arms in front of it, softening the blow enough that it didn’t instantly knock him out even through his reinforcement.

He was sent a couple of meters back even though he’d dug his feet into the ground. There was no time to collect himself. He dove, dodging her next kick by centimeters at best. He swung his arm out at her leg landing a blow on her calf.

It was like trying to punch a wall.

He had put enough force in the blow that she staggered, but she easily jumped backwards resetting in one swift motion.

“Yeah! YEAH! LET’S GO!” 

She jumped up, flipping through the air and bringing her leg down explosively where he’d been standing mere moments before.

The conditioning he’d gained through the Singularities and the Lostbelts was serving him well, but she was at the peak of physical power.

He had a feeling the only way she could get stronger would be to become a heroic spirit herself.

Her smile was wide as she leaped over him, planting and pushing off. She was aiming to slam into his back with her shoulder but her angle was a little too high. He had barely enough time to duck under the blow.

Her heel connected with his temple as she passed over him, dazing him somewhat. 

She landed and quickly whirled around, swinging a punch that he ducked under.

He realized he’d made an error when her knee slammed into his face. 

He’d dodged low too many times.

Thankfully his reinforcement stopped her from shattering his nose but it still hurt like hell.

But it wasn’t a new pain.

He could still attack through it.

His right leg connected with her side. She’d dropped her guard for a single moment after landing that hit and he was not one to forgive such things.

Not in the middle of a fight anyway.

She of course grabbed the offending leg and slung him away from her.

“DAMN! I THOUGHT YOU’D BE REELING FROM THAT ONE! NICE! NICE!!! I LIKE YOUR ATTITUDE!!!”

“At least one of us is having fun,” He ground out after a harrowing recovery, blowing some blood out of his nasal passage. 

“Oh shit you are kinda fucked up though. You ok?”

“I’m fine. Nothing’s broken.”

“You got moxie kid. So what do you think? Wanna intern under me? I don’t usually do this sort of thing but you’re good. You won’t drag me down.”

“What exactly do you do? They said you don't have an agency or anything,”

“Eh. I chase leads, run around and help out wherever I can. Don’t really like the idea of being tied to a home base when there are good fights everywhere y’know?”

She really was just a Chulainn but alive and also a rabbit.

He wanted to go into rescue work. But. If he went with her he would probably get a very good idea of how villains operated. Plus. It was only his first work study. He was sure there would be other opportunities.

“So? You ready for round two or what?”

“Alright. Fine I’m sold. Just don’t kick me in the head anymore, I don’t know how many more hits like that I can take before you give me a concussion.”

“Nice! First intern! Lets go get a bite and hit the road for a patrol!”

“Er… It’s not really an internship, it’s on the job training. And it starts in two days.”

“Details!”

“I cannot skip school for two days just because you’re insane.”

“UGH!”

“But I do need food, you know anywhere around here that won’t really care about my sports festival win? I don’t exactly want to get swarmed after getting the crap kicked out of me.”

“Yeah no problem! Let’s go!” She shouted excitedly before leaping off ahead of him.

He took stock of his scales. Despite the long chase he hadn’t pushed any individual structure too hard. Thankfully her kicks had not broken his limbs off either. He let go of his reinforcement and gave chase.

\---

“By the way kid,” Mirko started, “What’s your name again?”

“Really?” He had come all this way, gotten roughed up, and was now having dinner with someone who didn’t even know his name? “Nathan Relnor.”

“Eh? Isn’t it the other way around?”

“God damnit.” He explained yet again that he could never seem to stop introducing himself the western way.

Mirko only responded by laughing at him.

“Usagiyama Rumi,” She said with a vicious smile, “I don’t do formality so you can call me whatever you want sparky!”

“Yeah that tracks.”

“Eh? Got somethin to say, wiseass?”

“You’re the one that almost broke my nose before even introducing yourself,”

“Feh.”

She downed half of her drink before ordering another round of food.

“So you’re over with Chaldea right? I’ve worked with a couple of them before. Don’t remember their names but one of them was fun! No wonder you can scrap so well hanging around them all the time.”

“You didn’t remember my name but you remembered that about me.”

“That’s way more relevant to me.”

“Figures. Chaldea certainly has rubbed off on me in a variety of alarming ways,” Nathan said with a soft smile, “I’ve been trying to scale down a little… After the last incident I was involved in it took me about six months to be able to talk and be understood again.”

“... Huh? You go mute or something?”

“Or something.”

He had gone so far to be able to understand others that he had lost the ability to be understood. It had taken a lot of work to get back to where he was now.

“Well you’re here now n that’s the important shit. Keep pushin forward and live your best life without regrets.”

“I am unfortunately already full of regrets so it’s a little late for that.”

“You’re what, fifteen? It’s not that big a deal trust me.”

Nathan wanted to correct her but he didn’t think it would be a constructive argument to have. When she learned more about him, when she learned more about Chaldea, they could talk then.

“What am I supposed to do for two days while I wait around for your dumb school?”

“What do you usually do?”

“Fight villains.”

“Any hobbies?”

“Underground fighting rings.”

“That aren’t fighting.”

“Oh! I like thrill rides, and haunted houses n junk. I’m not allowed to go on many of them because I tend to break things,”

Anything to chase the thrill it seemed. Yeah. She would be right at home at Chaldea. He should never ever allow her over.

“What about you?”

“Hm?”

“You got any hobbies and shit you enjoy outside of heroics?”

“I like studying history and myths. And card games…”

“PSH!?”

He’d said that second item under his breath but Rumi’s hearing was exceptional.

“I guess you are just a kid alright!”

“I’ll have you know that there are a lot of heroes that enjoy playing card games with me! Maybe I’ll teach you sometime.”

“That’ll be the day!”

“If you’re bored, pick up a deck and start learning. Then maybe one day you’ll be good enough to give me a slight challenge.”

She mulled it over in her head. On one hand, that sounded boring as all hell. On the other hand, he had just directly challenged her and she wasn’t about to yield.

“Maybe,” Rumi said, “Only after a few drinks, and only if I’m REALLY bored!”

“Good enough.”

“But man, studying and card games, and you’re that good at fighting? I figured you’d at least train somewhere,”

“Oh I do, but I don’t… Is it really a hobby anymore when it’s in the service of your career?”

He’d managed to stop himself from saying how he really felt.

Is it really a hobby if you don’t enjoy doing it?

“Guess not.” She said with a shrug, “You got a bedtime or something I need to get you in by? I don’t necessarily want to get on Chaldea’s bad side.”

“They’re fine, they know what’s going on,”

“Eh? When the hell did you have time to tell them!?”

“There was one at UA’s gate back when you first accosted me.”

“Eh?! You really gonna word it like that?”

“You almost broke my nose.”

“Oh my God this is gonna be a thing isn’t it?”

“Probably.”

They were both laughing by the time the waiter came back with Rumi’s food.

“Don’t meet too many people that aren’t intimidated by me. Or worship the ground I walk on. Usually one of those two unless they’re another pro… And even then sometimes I can’t get away from it.”

“My perspective has shifted dramatically since getting taken in by Chaldea. Nothing really bothers me too much anymore.”

“That where you picked up that mouth of yours?”

“Undoubtedly. I don’t really shut up if I’m stressed, it helps keep me centered. Plus if it throws off my opponent even better.”

“Here here! Good, I’m lookin forward to this thing more and more. You sure I have to wait two days.”

“Yes, absolutely.”

“Damn. Fine. You drive a hard bargain you know but I’ll play your game.”

“You have no room to say that to me considering this whole thing started as humoring you just so you wouldn’t steal me from class tomorrow in a fit of rage.”

“Hey! I wouldn’t have done that!”

Nathan just looked at her without saying a single word, expression perfectly flat.

“Ok maybe a little.”

“You can’t tell me you wouldn’t have taken that as a personal insult and escalated.”

“OK MAYBE I WOULD HAVE!”

They both burst out laughing at the absurdity of what they were saying. No one watching would have been able to tell they’d only known each other for a few hours.

They continued on laughing and yelling at each other until they’d had their fill.

“Alright pipsqueak, you got a ride back home?”

“Yeah, I’m good. He’s waiting around here somewhere probably.”

“Alright. I guess… I guess I’ll wait the two days or whatever. I don’t really have an office though so I’ll just be hopping around the city.”

“Sounds like you’re just going to accost me at complete random.”

“LIKE HELL YOU SHITTY BRAT! LATER!” She shouted with a giant smile on her face before leaping over a nearby building.

“Well. That certainly was a day and a half. Edmond you around here?”

“Yes Master,” The Count said, emerging from around a corner. He casually put out the cigarette he’d been smoking before approaching, “Shall we head home?”

“I could definitely use a nap. And maybe a little healing.”

“Very well.”

A hand fell on Nathan’s shoulder and the two of them disappeared into the shadows together.

\---

“So what are you thinking Midoriya?”

“Oh! I actually got a nomination today after class let out! Grand Torino! He’s an old hero but he mentored All Might so it’s a great honor to be nominated by him!”

“Interesting, interesting.”

“Wait. Wait. Nathan! Nathan!!! How many tool cards do you have!?” Hassan of Serenity cried out as she watched Nathan play another card from his hand.

“Enough.”

“Waaaaaa!”

Midoriya wasn’t entirely too sure what was going on but it sounded like Nathan was playing some kind of card game.

“Apparently my choice was made for me, but this won’t be the only internship we have so I’m not too worried about it. One day I will be allowed to learn how to rescue people properly…”

“Er. You can always just say no Relnor-san.”

“And have her harass me every day? I know how those types work. I live with a lot of them. Alright, I’ll attack with Flying Fury, discarding all six of my tool cards to take out your Mewtwo.”

“WH- Why is it weak to psychic!? It’s psychic!”

“I don’t make the rules I just play the game.”

“Nathan is… Evil… Nathan is… Unrelenting…”

“One day you’re going to have to teach me how to play this game Relnor-san”

“Oh?”

Midoriya sensed the gaze of a true predator on him. Even though he was comfortably in his room talking over the phone he could feel Nathan’s stare blazing straight through him.

“Any time you’re free Midoriya, I’ll send the Count over to pick you up and I can preach to you the glory of TCGs.”

“I regret.”

“Most do.”

“Well! I’ll see you at school tomorrow then!”

“You can’t run, I know where you live and I also have a Merlin!”

Midoriya hung up, now properly terrified for his life. Or rather. Terrified of how his life was going to be spent in the coming weeks if Nathan made good on his promises.

Although another chance to hang out in Chaldea was never a bad thing. 

The on the job training started tomorrow.

He hoped this would help him finally get a grasp on One for All…

If all else failed maybe he could ask those strange Chaldeans for help.

\---

Two days passed so quickly for Nathan. Even though the ordinary school days were extremely draining for him, they sure were easy. Was this what it was like to have a normal life?

Nathan was never sure he’d be able to slow down enough for something like that.

Thankfully as a heroics school UA offered him his comfortable chaos relatively often.

The class stood together at a nearby station everyone preparing to go their separate ways for the week.

The increasingly quiet Iida turned to leave the group of four without even saying a goodbye, prompting Midoriya to reach out to him.

“Iida-kun… If- If you ever need someone to talk to, you can always talk to us. We’re friends after all.”

Uraraka nodded alongside Midoriya, but Nathan.

He studied Iida’s expression.

His shadow rumbled lightly behind him. 

“Sure.” Iida said before turning away from them.

The fact that Iida had picked an offer from Hosu, the city where the villain who took down his brother was last seen, had not escaped their notice.

But if Iida was content to shut them out, forcing their way through could only do so much.

Nathan pulled out his phone.

“Hey, Sherlock,” Nathan said in a hushed tone as Midoriya and Uraraka fretted behind him, “Have Saint George trail Iida Tenya in spirit form.”

His instincts were screaming at him to tackle Iida and just punch some sense into him.

But he knew that wouldn’t solve much.

So he would have the unbreakable Georgios standing by.

Even in terms of other Servants, Saint George was in a league of his own when it came to protecting people.

He could rest easy knowing that that safety net was there for Iida should the worst come to pass.

He hung up before wearily turning away from his friend.

“It will be fine I think,” Nathan said, catching their attention. His own overwhelming sense of calm washed over them.

“Right. You’re right. We’ve just got to believe in him,” Uraraka said with a smile.

“And be there to catch him if he stumbles,” Nathan added in.

They shared a smile.

They’d gotten used to how overwhelming Nathan’s was. Uraraka had even come to recognize it for what it was. A catastrophic overflowing amount of love. A love she could only barely grasp because of its vastness.

And then that tender moment was interrupted when Mirko came crashing into the station.

“THERE YOU ARE!” 

She closed the distance between them in a single bound, grabbing him from under his right shoulder, “Get suited up we’re goin on patrol!”

“This is it. This is my life now.” Nathan said as he was physically dragged away from his friends.

“Wait was that… Rabbit Hero Mirko!?” Midoriya called out as she hoisted Nathan over her shoulder like a bag of potatoes and leaped out of the station.

Aizawa, as well as half of the class had seen that whole scene.

He swore to himself internally as he watched that extreme boy get carried away by an even more extreme pro hero.

In his opinion, Nathan did not need someone as amped up as Mirko to study under. He needed someone who could help curb his reckless tendencies, not someone who would encourage them.

\---

“So. What’s your plan?” Nathan asked casually as they soared through the air. He was used to this sort of thing by now. Nearly every single Servant in Chaldea had had to sling him over their shoulder at some point and run away.

It was just a fact of life that if someone he trusted grabbed him and slung him over their shoulder he would just go with it without a struggle.

“Eh? Like I said, we’re gonna patrol! If we see any villains we’ll smash em. That qualifies as workplace experience right!?”

“Very very vaguely. I am supposed to be learning things,”

“Yeah you’ll learn how to kick ass better. That’s what we’re going for.”

“Great.” He said tonelessly.

“COME ON IT’LL BE FUN!”

They came crashing down in front of a modest hotel.

“I don’t have a place in the area so I’ve just been crashing here lately. Hero suits keep me set up, I just tell em when and where.”

“Oh. I guess you do work a respectable job even if you’re a lunatic,” Nathan said after sliding off of her shoulder and finally getting his feet back under him.

“Ey! I wear that title with pride! Villains cower in fear from me!”

“You ever think that maybe that’s part of the problem?”  
“Can’t argue with results,”

For some reason that boy shifted uncomfortably.

“I suppose.” He said, but his tone was distant.

“Come on let’s get you changed into your suit and go kick some villains, that always cheers me up!”

“It would, wouldn’t it?” he said quickly returning to normal.

She slapped him on the back of the head, perhaps a little harder than she intended considering how much he stumbled from the blow.

How could something like that stagger him if he took a full force kick to the face before?

Oh well, maybe she just truly caught him off guard.

They were in and out in a matter of minutes, choosing to exit via the roof just to have a better launch pad.

“You have any leads?” He asked. It was mid afternoon so he wasn’t sure where to even start looking for petty crimes around now.

“Mh. Not really. Just gotta learn where to look, tell me where do you think we should start?”

“Oh. Uh…” Nathan quickly scanned the area around them, they didn’t have the highest vantage point, but it was good enough to get a feel of the area, “Probably over there maybe?”

“Wrong!”

“Wh-”

“You’re too far off the grid! If you’re going for something petty you’re gonna be close to where people are, maybe in the off alleys from a major shopping area! Gotta be ready to pounce and then bolt!”

She pointed to a shopping center nearby.

“We’ll hang around there for a bit, see if we can’t get a good warm up on some small fries.”

Nathan nodded quietly. He honestly hadn’t been expecting to get much out of this internship beyond some endurance training. But Mirko was a professional hero and he was a student that had never actively hunted down criminals before. She had leagues of experience in what to look for and where to look for it.

“Right. I’ll follow your lead.”

“THEN LET’S HOP TO IT!” She called out, taking off in one explosive leap.

\---

“So…”

He stood apart from his conversation partners. One was a lanky silver haired man with a severed hand on his face, the other was a sharply dressed man made of black mist.

“You’re the ones that Raided UA. And now you want me to join your little group?”

“Sure. Come on then, you’re a much more experienced villain than us aren’t you?” One Shigaraki Tomura said.

The Hero Killer: Stain sneered at that man’s casual answer.

“What do you hope to accomplish?”

“Well. Mostly I want to kill All Might. Then I can move on to destroying things I don’t like, these brats for example…” He held up a series of pictures. The front most one showed a boy with short brown hair who seemed to be missing an eye.

A moment of silence passed between the three of them.

“I was foolish to be interested in your offer. You’re the type of person I despise the most.” Stain’s hands went to the knives he wore on his sides, “Did you really only call me here to rope me into your temper tantrum? What’s the point of killing without a cause?”

His serrated knives slipped from their sheathes.

“Master! Is it ok to let this proceed?” Kurogiri asked the television screen at the far end of the bar.

“Yes. This is fine. There’s no point if we just give him all of the answers!”

Stain was on them in an instant, slashing Kurogiri’s arm while he was distracted and quickly touching his blade to his tongue.

The other one was slow to react, so by the time he was moving Stain was already positioned to knock him flat on his back.

Shigaraki fell with a resounding thud. Before he could process what was going on one of those knives pierced his right shoulder, pinning him to the ground, the other finding its way to his neck in short order.

“No matter what you wish to accomplish, you must have conviction and drive. Those who lack such things. Those who are weak. They will be weeded out. That’s why this is a perfectly natural result.”

“Grh. That hurts… This is too hard. Kurogiri, send him back.”

But his stalwart ally could do no such thing. After all, Stain already had him under the effects of his quirk. 

“This world is overrun with fake heroes to the point where the word has lost all meaning, and the villains who aimlessly wield their power without direction. All of them will be purged…”

Stain pushed his knife closer to Shigaraki’s face.

“Wait.”

His hand clasped around that knife.

“Not that palm.”

The knife began to crumble to dust under Shigaraki’s grip.

“I’ll kill you. Conviction? I don’t need anything like that. All I want to do is crush this society where trash like All Might gets put up on a pedestal!”

Shigaraki swung that hand out, causing Stain to jump back.

“My last injury only just got patched up. We don’t have a healer on our party, you know. You better take responsibility for this.”

“So. That’s the kind of person you are.”

Stain’s words knocked Shigaraki off balance slightly.

“Our goals are the complete opposite, but our means are the same.”

“What? Knock it off. Go home. Die. I thought I was the kind of person you hated most.”

“I was testing your mettle. A person’s true nature only surfaces when they’re about to die. It’s twisted, but there is a conviction inside of you. How will it grow? I’d like to see it before I dispose of you.”

“I don’t want someone this crazy as a party member Kurogiri.”

“Nonsense. If you can learn to work with him he will be an excellent asset.”

“Kurogiri.” The voice from the monitor called out causing the three to come to a stop. “Don’t forget to give him our incentive.”

“Ah. Yes.”

A black portal opened up, depositing a strange handheld device onto the bartop. It seemed to be made from some kind of silver with almost its entire surface engraved with symbols that gave it a strong otherworldly air. From the bottom of the device protruded a clear vial with a dark red liquid swirling around inside.

Stain instantly recognized it as blood.

“This is insurance on our investment,” That voice said, “Another partner has noticed an alarming trend lately and constructed that as a weapon to fight it.”

“A weapon?” Stain asked, picking up the device and examining it thoroughly.

“Yes. Should you encounter a hero you have no means of defeating. Press the button and a partner suited to your needs will come to your aid. I have been told that you should save it for use against a Chaldean hero should you find one in your sights.”

Stain’s eyes narrowed. He had heard of Chaldea a few times. But his method of attacking left most heroes unable to call for backup. He had never run against one personally, but tales of their abilities had reached him. 

He did not like the idea of having to fight one. They seemed to be heroes in the true sense of the word. Responding to cries for help, shunning the fame and fortune that came from heroics, merely waiting to lend a hand to those in danger.

But. If one of them got in the way of his mission…

He had many questions but took the device anyway. If it came to it he would use it. But only if he was truly pushed into a corner.

“Fine. Take me back to Hosu. I still have work to do.”

\---

Mirko’s eye for finding villain activity was absolutely absurd. After a couple of hours of not much going on they’d keyed in on a suspicious group. It turned out they were part of a ring of dealers selling a drug called Trigger which caused Quirks to go berserk when used.

Between the two of them the group barely had time to register that they were under attack before they’d been taken out. Nathan’s opening move of a wide burst of electricity followed by Mirko kicking the shit out of stunned targets was a nearly unbeatable combination.

“Phew. Alright the police are on their way. Nice work there. Was worried you might freeze up in the face of real villains.”

“I passed that phase a long long time ago,” Nathan said calmly. 

“Fair. Guess you were the one student that acted out of line at that USJ thing eh?”

“Perhaps.”

“Come on! You can talk to me! I ain’t got shit to prove, everybody knows better than to hound me for questions!”

“I’m surprised you were not privy to the reports.”

“Nah, UA’s pretty tight on it’s own shit. All we know is about the villains themselves and all the arrests. Don’t really know what happened beyond that.”

“Mh. It’s not much of a story, they teleported into the middle of USJ and Aizawa rushed in to fight them. So, knowing the huge disadvantage he’d be fighting under, I rushed in too.”

She let out a low whistle.

“And you didn’t get any shit for it?”

“I got a tongue lashing that’s for sure, but no proper disciplinary action.”

“Damn, must have really impressed someone.”

“It is what I do these days, apparently.”

“Fahahaha! Was that a dig at me you cheeky bastard! You’re gonna pay for that later you know!”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less out of you.”

The police arrived in short order. They seemed surprised at Mirko lightly bantering with Nathan while she gave her report. They were even more surprised when she scooped him up and leaped away with him.

The two continued their patrol for a few more hours, not really finding too much out of the ordinary.

But something was starting to bother Mirko about the way Nathan had been handling himself on the field.

“Hey kid. Do you even like fighting?” She asked as they surveyed an area from atop another building.

“Not really. It’s always been a means to an end. I don’t really enjoy the fight itself, but if I believe it’s necessary I’ll do it,” He said conversationally.

That answer came too easily for it to have been a lie.

But that didn’t entirely square up with what she’d seen from him before.

“Then why the hell did you give that speech of yours at the sports festival if not to challenge yourself against everyone!?”

“I was told my speech should fire everyone up. The easiest way I could think to do that was to challenge them.”

It was a means to an end.

“And that big smile during your last match? Against that fire and ice kid?”

“Hm?” Nathan took his attention away from the area and focused his one eyed gaze on Mirko.

Had he not realized it? That smile that had won her over had been so instinctual that he didn’t even realize he’d made it.

That didn’t square up in her head right. Nobody who didn’t enjoy fighting on some level could make that smile, but…

“You’re a weird kid, you know that?”

“I am aware, yes.”

\---

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. They would patrol late into the night, stop by whatever dive was still open, eat their fill, and then crash in her hotel suite. Rumi did have to wonder exactly when that boy slept, since he was almost always awake when she turned in, and already awake when she woke up. 

It was non stop but it wasn’t anything Nathan wasn’t already used to.

Apparently they’d accidentally hit something big with that first group of Trigger dealers. They would receive new intel every morning from the police and it would be their main mission of the day to chase down those leads. 

This was pretty typical for Rumi apparently. She’d scratch the surface of a large criminal organization and then wouldn’t stop until she’d personally kicked every single one of their members in the face.

The only new snag was that she wanted to wrap this one up in a week so she could show Nathan the whole process.

To that end they were currently following up one of their major leads.

“Well this certainly doesn’t look the part, but I guess that’s the point isn’t it?” Nathan said from his perch on the top of another building.

“You got it. Don’t want civilians calling in cuz you got ‘evil drug trade’ painted on the side of your warehouse.”

It was already evening so the area was relatively poorly lit, but nothing about it screamed illicit hideout.

Nathan was familiar with certain parties who actually did act that obliviously, so he couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought. 

“What’s our plan of attack?”

“We’re gonna wait til bird bitch gets here then we’re gonna jump in and take 'em all out.”

Nathan had no idea who she could be talking about, at least not until the sound of flapping wings filled the air.

He tilted his head up and saw those large red wings.

“Yo/”

Nathan was vaguely aware of who this man was. Pro hero Hawks. Chaldea had helped him out once and he had some very pointed questions about the inner workings of their organization.

“Relnor-san?”

Nathan’s eye fell to Tokoyami.

“Oh. Hello Tokoyami-san,”

“Wait. Wait wait. Back up,” Hawks said, holding his hands up as he folded his wings behind him, “You.”

Mirko tilted her head to the side, “Me?”

“You took a kid from 1-A?”

“I lost a bet.”

“Ok. That’s better. I was scared for a moment… Good luck keeping up with her kid, she’s even worse than I am,”

Tokoyami groaned from behind that pro hero.

“Ey, I know how to pick em, my kid’s been doing just fine!” She said, surprisingly defensively.

“Woah woah, cool your jets, I wasn’t implying anything. Anyway. We got any extra intel?”

“They know something’s up,” Nathan spoke up. “There hasn’t been a lot of traffic in and out. Plus we have kind of just been showing up at random and just beating the crap out of large groups of them so… That’s kind of our bad.”

“Hah! It was fun though. That just means they’re all holed up in there just waiting to get stomped!” Mirko added.

Hawks tilted his head to the side as they turned their attention back to the warehouse. That was odd. They actually seemed pretty compatible. But nothing about that kid’s performance had particularly screamed that Mirko would enjoy his company. 

Nathan’s helmet snapped together over his head as he scanned the area in more detail, chatting with Tokoyami and Rumi with equal ease.

“Well. This should be pretty routine. You kids just stay back and let us clean up shop,” Hawks said casually.

“Way to curse us,” Nathan said absentmindedly before realizing he’d just spoken out of turn, “Er. Sorry.”

“FAHAHAHAHA! DON’T APOLOGIZE I WAS ONE STEP BEHIND YOU!” Mirko said with a mighty laugh.

Scratch that, he seemed to interact with everyone casually, even though they hadn’t been properly introduced yet.

This would certainly be interesting…

\---

Disaster had struck. Hosu plunged into chaos as several of the Nomu began attacking indiscriminately.

“It’s so noisy… So those idiots decided to come out of hiding… I’ll dispose of them later.”

Hero Killer Stain held a stunned pro hero against a wall, rearing back his blade in preparation to finish his work.

“Damn you… Die!”

“Are those really the last words of a pro hero?”

But.

Before he could swing.

Their footwork was noisy so he had plenty of time to react despite how fast they were moving.

He swung his blade, catching his opponent’s helmet and knocking it straight off his head.

“Hm? A child in a suit? Get out of here, this isn’t the kind of place for children to play…”

Iida Tenya rose up from the disorienting blow.

“Blood red scarf. Blades all over your body. You’re the Hero Killer Stain right!?” 

He locked eyes with his opponent.

“I never thought I’d find you this quickly! I’ve come looking for you!”

Stain turned his blade towards the boy.

“Those eyes are filled with vengeance. If things are dire enough even children can become my targets. You understand what that means right?”

“I’m not even a target in your eyes!?” Iida roared as he straightened up, “Listen up criminal! I am the brother of a hero you cut down! I’m here to bring you down in his place! So don’t ever forget the name Ingenium!”

“Is that so… Die.”

Iida acted first, swinging a mighty kick at the masked villain. Unfortunately he was too easy to read. Stain simply jumped over it, landing a kick with his spiked shoes before knocking Iida to the ground.

“I let your brother live to feed the rumors about me. But you’re too weak.”

His blade pierced Iida’s bicep, pinning him to the ground.

“You were both weak. Because you are imposters.”

“Shut up! He was a fine hero and you paralyzed him! He saved so many people! He gave me a dream! I’ll kill you!” 

“Save him first.”

Iida’s mind came to a screeching halt.

He followed Stain’s hand.

Yes. There was someone else here wasn’t there?

He had barely registered it until just now.

“You’ve been consumed by your own desires. It’s the furthest state from being a hero. That’s why you’ll die here.”

Stain removed his blade and licked the blood off of it.

Iida’s body locked up.

He could only watch as Stain prepared to run him through again.

But.

He was not given the chance to swing.

A flash of white and bronze slammed into him, sending him tumbling away from both of his targets.

“Ah. I am sorry for my late arrival. I lost sight of you when you dashed off,” A smooth voice spoke out.

A large white cape draped over exquisite armor. His right shoulder guard was styled like a dragon’s head. In that hand he held a large blade.

“I am glad I was able to save you from further injury. Please. Do not be afraid. I will keep you both safe.”

Stain regarded the man. No. There was something off about his presence.

He was too bright.

It was hard to register him among the scum that called themselves heroes.

“No one is beyond salvation. It is the height of foolishness to proclaim that a child cannot be saved. Allow me to show you the error of your ways young man. My name is Georgios and on that name no further harm shall come to these two on my honor as a Chaldean hero.”

No.

No, those two were indeed beyond salvation.

In order to reclaim the title of hero from those fakes they had to die.

“I won’t let you get in my way,” Stain said, brandishing his blade.

\---

“Route 7 at least should still be clear,” one of the villains said from his place next to a nondescript truck.

“In theory. We’re on high alert. Mirko’s on our trail so it’s only a matter of time before she brings the roof down on top of us.”

The moment he finished that sentence.

The very instant.

With an explosive crash Mirko broke through the ceiling, landing smack dab in the middle of the warehouse floor.

“Sup!”

Electricity rained down from them a moment later.

Everyone’s attention had been drawn to the floor, so no one was left to notice Nathan clinging to the ceiling until he attacked.

“Shit! SHIT! OPEN FIRE! GET AS MUCH OUT OF HERE AS YOU CAN!”

He went to pull his gun before a bolt of electricity ran through him, taking him to the floor.

Mirko charged a group, dodging through their desperate attacks and landing several crushing blows of her own. She didn’t bother to check to see if they were down for the count. The sound of crackling electricity was all the confirmation she needed as she weaved through the mob. 

“TAKE OUT THAT FUCKING KID!”

“THAT’S MY FUCKING KID AND IF YOU HURT A HAIR ON HIS HEAD I’LL MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE DEAD!” Mirko screamed as she slammed that villain through the wall he was standing in front of.

“FUCK!” One of the villains screamed as he dove out one of the side doors, “Shit! Gotta get the hell out of-”

Something snagged his collar.

“Going somewhere?”

He was lifted up and slammed into a pile with the rest of the potential escapees.

Red feathers danced around them.

“Other than jail I mean,” Pro Hero Hawks said with a wink.

It was a slaughter. Anyone who stayed inside would be annihilated by Mirko. Anyone who escaped outside would face down Hawks.

A literal worst case scenario.

One of the villains inside overdosed on Trigger but found his consciousness leaving him just as he felt power flooding through him.

A black blast struck him directly in the back.

The man hadn’t been downed by a blast of electricity so it was only natural to assume he had a similar quirk and would be immune. Therefore Nathan switched to a method of attack that could bypass that weakness.

A villain dove under one of the trucks as panic took him over.

What could he do? What could anyone do? There was no escape here. He’d seen the red feathers out the window. They were trapped. They were trapped and it was all over.

Unless.

He reached to that strange silver device strapped to his waist.

The division boss had given it to him to use as a last resort. 

“Use in case of an emergency eh? Well this sure as hell is an emergency!”

He pressed the button at the top and that vial of red liquid was sucked into the main body of that weapon.

An explosion of force shot out, blowing that man, and the truck above him away.

Nathan was forced to dodge as the vehicle crashed through the ceiling.

“What the fuck!?” Rumi called out as she turned towards the blast.

“Someone was under that! Must be a strength qui-”

Nathan’s words died in his throat.

His visor registered a large spike of Mana.

An imposing man stood in the center of that explosion. He had horns protruding from his messy brown hair. He wore nothing over his torso but had his arms clad in gauntlets with a shield in one hand and…

In his right hand he held a double sided axe that seemed to pulse with life.

Nathan instantly recognized that man.

“Eric Bloodaxe!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there are some people that have been waiting for elements of Fate to start seeping into the normal plot of MHA. I'm sorry I had you wait for so long but it took a long time to hammer out exactly how I'd manage it but I think I've finally got a solid idea of where I'm going. More than 50k words in... That's just how I operate now a days I guess.
> 
> Anyway hope you're ready for some interesting battles next time! See you in a couple of weeks!


	12. What does it mean to be (A Chaldean?)(A Hero?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello! It's that time once again! The decisive clash between Servants and Heroes! How will the battles flow as pro heroes face down the uncertain element of magic for the first time in their lives?

Stain tried to weave past Georgios but was met with an impassable wall.

He was simply out of his league.

With a single swing of his sword Georgios lifted Stain and flung him back several meters just from the force of that swing alone.

“Please! Stop! This is my fight! You have nothing to do with this!” Iida called out.

“My boy. You are truly telling me to turn away from two injured heroes? Has your grudge blinded you to that degree already? I can see why I was assigned to guard you.” Georgios said evenly. His presence was a blinding light, Iida could barely regard that shining hero.

But it was not a physical light…

Stain was reevaluating his tactics. He had tried flinging daggers at that man, he’d tried attacking and weaving past him, but there was simply no way through.

If he could just draw his blood it would be over but even that seemed impossible.

A true hero still existed in this world, but he was protecting the scum that needed to be purged.

And he had a weapon specifically designed to deal with Chaldean Heroes...

He reached behind him and pulled that mysterious device from its place on his belt. 

He had no idea how that device truly worked. What did they say? A partner would be supplied to him should he use it?

The logistics of it were beyond him but he needed the help.

“I hate to be indebted to those idiots, but I must continue my mission. Please survive. The world needs true heroes like you.” Stain said while pressing the button at the top of that device.

An explosion of force blew through the alleyway.

Another opponent had entered the fray.

Georgios’ eyes widened.

“A summoning spell? I see. So they’ve finally begun to move.”

His stance shifted as the smoke from that explosion cleared.

“Aaaaah, what a pain. I guess I’ve got to deal with you huh?”

Georgios recognized the man by his voice alone. He wore a red cape and held a golden spear casually against his shoulder.

“Hector of Troy?!”

“Huh? You know me? How’s that work cuz I don’t recognize you at all.”

That man with short brown hair and a short beard spun his spear and readied himself for combat.

“Orders, Master?”

Stain bristled at the term Master. What kind of man had that device just summoned? More importantly, why did that Chaldean already know who he was just from seeing him once? Was there an organization out there that responded to these calls that was poised against Chaldea?

Regardless...

“I need to fulfil my mission. Keep that true hero busy but don’t kill him,”

“That’s gonna be kind of rough. You really want me to fight another Servant while holding back? Alright. I guess. Lets tango mystery man.”

Georgios tensed. He was an invincible wall sure. But he could not be in two places at once. Hector was too powerful an opponent to be taken lightly…

But…

He could tell from where he was standing.

The Hector before him did not have the same level of power as the one he was used to. The summoning method must have its drawbacks, as such this Hector was likely degraded.

There was no comfort in this fact. Even if he was degraded Hector was a bad matchup for him.

And unfortunately Hector was not alone.

The Master and Servant combo charged together only to be met with a wide swing of Georgios’ blade. Hector smashed head long into it, locking weapons with the saint.

“Oooh! You are strong huh!? Man! This definitely isn’t my kind of fight but…” Hector tried to push Georgios but he would not budge. 

Stain used the distraction to slip past him.

“Now then-”

He didn’t even get a chance to refocus on Iida before someone else arrived and punched him square in the face.

A bolt of green lightning came to a stop in front of Iida.

Stain took the moment to fall back, taking point next to Hector.

“BINGO!” Midoriya shouted, a triumphant smirk on his face.

“Midoriya!?” Both Iida and Georgios shouted.

“Why-” Iida started before Izuku cut him off.

“I saw it on the news. 60% of the hero killers victims were found in back alleys leading to dead corners! So from the center of all the commotion I checked every alleyway until I finally lucked out here!”

Hector let out a low whistle.

“Is this what modern heroes are like? Wish I could have had kids like you back at Troy…”

Georgios forced the errant Servant back but was unable to knock him off his feet.

“Iida can you move? We need to get to the street so we can get more backup-”

“I- I can’t… Ever since he cut me-”

Midoriya paused and looked to Georgios. He had been in the group they’d fought in Chaldea’s cafeteria during the nerf war. They hadn’t gotten the opportunity to speak much but knowing he was a Chaldean hero brought immense relief.

But he had to wonder… Why was he here?

“There are two victims here. Hector is not an opponent I can freely disengage from.”

Pro hero Native was slumped up against the alley wall. It would be nearly impossible to carry him and Iida away at the same time while trying to deal with the Hero Killer...

“Wait.” Midoriya’s mind came to a halt as he saw the man standing opposite Georgios, “Isn’t- Isn’t he a Chaldean too!?”

He recognized the spear that gruff man wielded.

“I do not have time to properly explain the situation, but that man is currently an enemy I cannot afford to ignore. I am sorry but I must request your aid young man,” Georgios said with a pained smile.

A Servant fighting alone was at a distinct disadvantage when fighting against a Master Servant pair. Without Nathan present he would have to improvise.

Luckily, the young hero next to him would do nicely.

“Midoriya! Don’t get involved! This has nothing to do with you!” Iida called out. “This is my fight and I refuse to run away! I will never forgive you if you-”

“Iida-kun what are you-”

“It must be nice to have good friends Ingenium. Boy. I have a duty to kill these two. If you get in my way it is only natural that the weak will be culled. So. What will you do?”

The amount of murderous intent those words held was unmistakable. Instinctively Georgios took a step forward, intending to meet that man head on.

Briefly, Midoriya froze up. This was on a whole other level than the villains at USJ. The conviction behind his words. The pure intent to kill. Such things had only risen from Shigaraki out of anger at Nathan…

But if Nathan could stand up to it…

He held his phone behind his back and sent a ping to a small group chat the class had set up. It only contained his location but he hoped someone would be able to figure out what he meant.

He pocketed the device and readied himself.

“STOP! PLEASE! RUN AWAY! THIS DOESN'T CONCERN YOU AT ALL!” Iida screamed

Hector watched on with a smile. He knew it was impossible, but he kind of hoped everything could be resolved quickly and peacefully. 

It really would be a shame to have to kill those kids.

“If you say that, then heroes can’t do anything! I have a lot to say to you, but I’ll save it for later. It’s just like All Might said… Meddling where you aren’t supposed to is the essence of being a hero!”

Midoriya took up a stance. He resolved and faced Stain’s murderous intent head on.

Stain straightened up, a massive smile on his face.

“Good! Hector was it? That one is a true hero!”

“Yeah. I can see it from here. He’s a bright one isn’t he? Sure takes me back.”

“You are not to kill that one. Keep them busy while I go about my work!”

“Whatever you-”

He was not allowed to finish his thought.

Georgios rocketed forward in a burst of motion and smashed into Hector, sending him tumbling. 

He was back on his feet in an instant, matching Georgios speed with his own casually.

Spear and sword danced as the two Servants reached an explosive stalemate. The force of their blows alone rocking the entire alleyway.

He regretted it, truly. That he would have to leave Midoriya mostly unassisted against such a powerful opponent. But he had already stood up to that vast murderous intent.

There was no way Stain could defeat him now.

\---

What was a Heroic Spirit doing here?

First of all, none of these villains had any mana to speak of, so how was he summoned in the first place?

Chaldea came to Japan because someone was summoning Servants without a Greater Grail or the Chaldea summoning system to support them.

But he never imagined a non magus would be able to do it.

This was extremely bad.

“This is Nathan Relnor, requesting backup immediately! Send Asterios to my location ASAP!” He called into his communicator.

“Acknowledged, deploying Berserker Asterios, ETA 5 minutes. What is the situation?”

“A villain summoned Eric Bloodaxe, can you guys get a read on my location?”

“Confirmed materialization of Eric Bloodaxe. It seems like his parameters are lower than expected. Must be a side effect of the summoning. Don’t take any unnecessary risks. If worst comes to worst keep running until Asterios arrives.”

“Whooo. Don’t know where you came from big guy, but if you’re with those punks then you’re goin down just the same!” Rumi called out, bouncing on her feet as she evaluated the target in front of her.

It was odd to say the least.

Her instincts were screaming at her to run away but…

Nathan landed next to her the next moment.

“We need to get out of here! You feel it too don’t you!?”

“Yeah… I can feel every hair on my body standing on edge. This guy’s somethin else ain’t he!?”

Eric let out a roar and advanced in an explosion of motion.

He swung his axe with enough force to send out a shockwave.

The two split, dodging in different directions as the wall behind them was obliterated.

“Oh yeah! He’s the real deal alright! Let’s go kid!”

“RUMI I SWEAR TO GOD!”

She was already in the air by the time he started screaming. She spun gracefully, catching Eric by the chin with a powerful kick.

He barely even stumbled out of it.

“You’re kidding!” She called out as she flipped out of range of another swing of that axe.

If Nathan remembered right Eric Bloodaxe had both an Endurance and a Strength stat of B+. Even ranked down it was going to be extremely difficult to damage him with physical blows.

Thankfully that was not all they had available to them.

Eric’s attention was on Mirko so he took a gamble and dodged away.

Nathan darted behind one of the wrecked vehicles scattered around the warehouse and pulled a nail from one of his uniform’s pouches. He magically reinforced it and his arm as his right hand split open.

A railgun would be enough to punch through stats like that especially if he pushed his reinforcement ability to its limit. He just needed to believe Mirko would be able to keep him busy.

He felt himself pitch backwards as the vehicle he was hiding behind was lifted up.

“Oh fuck me,” He muttered before using his leg to push off the wall magnetically, shooting across the floor past Eric.

“RAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

He threw the car.

It was moving too fast. Nathan did not have enough power to bring it to a stop before it hit him.

Instead he pulled on the ceiling, darting up and over the attack.

“RUMI KICK HIS ASS!”

“IM GETTING MIXED SIGNALS HERE!”

A knee slammed into the side of Eric’s head.

This time it carried enough force to stagger the man, leaving him open to a follow up kick to the jaw.

But that was not enough to keep him off balance.

He swung, his axe carving through the ground like it wasn’t even there.

Rumi was blown back in a shower of debris.

The sound of crackling electricity drew his attention back to Nathan in short order.

Instinctively he held his shield up.

He couldn’t tell what kind of attack that boy was about to use but he definitely wanted to be on the defensive.

A tremendous noise exploded out shattering every window in the warehouse.

That nail struck his shield at three times the speed of sound. Magical reinforcement gave it the durability it needed to keep its shape despite the extreme forces acting on it. So instead of melting or crumbling it punched through that shield and continued on, tearing through his left shoulder.

“Ooooh… OOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” Eric screamed as Nathan fell back to the ground.

“Oh get over it, I only have one working arm too you know,” Nathan said casually as his hand weaved itself back together. 

“I stop paying attention for twelve seconds and you’ve got him screaming like a madman. Nice work,” Rumi said with a smug smile on her face as she returned to Nathan’s side.

Maybe…

Just maybe…

If his stats were ranked down far enough there was a chance they would actually be able to deal with him by themselves.

Maybe he’d been a little too cautious in calling Chaldea immediately-

An odd pulse shook the warehouse.

He felt an immense weight strike his body. No. That wasn’t quite right. He felt like something had grabbed hold of his muscles and was relentlessly pulling them down to the ground. 

“What-” Rumi managed to get out as she too fell under that same effect.

“Oh fuck,” Nathan muttered.

It had truly been a long time since he and Eric had fought together so it totally slipped his mind.

Supporting Curse Rank C+

A gift left behind by Gunnhild to her beloved husband. It was a skill that lowered the physical abilities of Eric’s opponents.

And they’d both just fallen under its effects.

\---

Hector truly was a challenging opponent for him. Georgios could not spare any focus when engaged in combat with the great hero of Troy. Especially considering his Noble Phantasm was capable of piercing any defense…

If he allowed Hector to actually throw that spear there was a real chance he could die. Even if his defenses were nearly limitless a spear that ignored defense would still do damage to him. 

Their weapons smashed together over and over, the force of their blows damaging their surroundings with every clash.

But that was simply what happened when two Servants clashed.

“Man. I’m too old to be dealing with this kind of pressure… Plus… I’m not connected to a Greater Grail am I? So what the hell is all this nonsense?” Hector said casually. 

“I could not begin to tell you my friend.”

The fact that they could converse so casually while fighting with such force baffled Native.

“Mh… Where’s your Master in all of this? Not one of these kids is it?”

“Heavens no. My master simply told me to act as a shield for the armored one.”

“Oh. He picked a good one. Still can’t quite figure out who you are but uh,”

Midoriya slumped to the ground as Stain’s quirk paralyzed him.

“Ascalon!”

Georgios’s sword gave off a brilliant light as it smashed into Hector’s spear, sending the Servant flying backwards.

He exploded forward, swinging that glowing blade at Stain and forcing him to abandon another attack on Iida.

Hector landed with a loud thud next to his master.

“This could be going better boss.”

“I thought I told you to keep that hero out of my way.”

“Yeah but he’s a real rough one. I’ve got something that might be able to do something about him but you told me not to kill him.”   


Stain ground to a halt.

What was more important?

Purging the filth before him or preserving the heroes he’d encountered…

It simply came down to numbers. Killing Georgios would be a shame but if he purged two scumbags calling themselves heroes it would even out.

“Do it.”

“Ugh. Guess I’ll have to bring it then… Target confirmed, angle set. Durindana!” He flipped his spear and took a stance. The spear itself began to shoot a catastrophic fire from it’s tail end, almost as if it was some kind of rocket. Stain was forced to jump away to avoid the intense heat. “Blow em away!”

With that he released the weapon.

Durindana had the property to pierce all defenses but its reach was too wide. It was an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm being used on a single person, and Georgios’ defense was not to be underestimated.

“ASCALON!” He roared as he met that strike head on. A terrible explosion rocked the alley as those two Noble Phantasms met.

Hector’s spear flew back to his hand. He was winded after deploying his Noble Phantasm but he’d landed a solid hit.

“Can’t help but notice I’m running on borrowed time here. I started with a ton of mana available but it doesn’t seem to be replenishing at all…” Hector said.

“What are you talking about?” Stain muttered before returning his focus to the explosion. Was that this man’s quirk? No. That didn’t make sense. How was he keeping up with the Chaldean hero’s strength quirk then? 

“You’re terrible at this whole summoning thing you know Master?”

“You! Is the Hero Killer the Master of Chaldea!?” Midoriya called out.

“Chaldea?” Hector asked, “Never heard of it. I’m just a wayward Servant that got plucked out of the Throne of Heroes. But uh. For better or worse this guy is my Master.”

Stain didn’t bother answering.

Or rather he wasn’t given an opportunity to answer.

The smoke from the explosion was blown away with a single swing of that sword.

It had been degraded.

It hadn’t had nearly as much power behind it as he’d been expecting.

But Durindana was not a Noble Phantasm to be taken lightly under any circumstances.

His left arm hung limply at his side.

Despite the fact that that decisive strike had been aimed directly at his heart he’d managed to knock it aside. 

“Are you alright child?” Georgios asked Iida as he leveled his sword at his opponents.

“Please… please stop…”

It was the reaction he’d expected.

He paused for a moment noticing something in the reflection of his blade. He gave the new arrival a slight nod before returning his eyes to the battlefield.

“Well I was kind of hoping that would have done a little more damage but one arm down? Against me? Even if you have a proper Master that’s gonna be tough.”

“Fear not. As long as I am protecting others you will never be able to cut me down.”

Hector smiled as he and Stain rushed forward together.

Georgios jumped up, allowing a pillar of fire to shoot past him. Stain evaded the blast but Hector simply opted to blow the fire away with a swing of his weapon. This proved to be a miscalculation as his spear was no longer in any position to block Georgios’ next strike. That blade that boasted a perfect defense tore through Hector’s shoulder as Georgios landed, sending him stumbling to the side.

Ice flowered out, elevating Midoriya and Native in a way that caused them both to slide behind Georgios.

“You’ve got to be more clear next time Midoriya. You made me late.” Todoroki said holding his phone out, “The pros aren’t far behind me.”

“Excellent work young man,” Georgios said, taking point with his sword at the ready, “Please protect your friends. I will keep those two busy.”

\---

Things were going well. He’d rounded up all of the attempted escapees into a nice little bundle. All that was left was for Rumi to give the all clear.

“Sorry you didn’t really get to do too much again, but hey, observing pros at work has some merits doesn’t it?” Hawks said cheerfully.

“I suppose. Hands on experience is preferable but being involved in something like this…”

“Least you aren’t that Relnor kid. I mean I saw the sports festival but Rumi’s somethin else. Keeping up with her is work even for me.”

Loud crashing sounds were still coming from inside that warehouse. There was no doubt in either of their minds that Mirko was just going wild in there.

They’d been startled by the windows suddenly blowing out earlier but when the sounds of fighting continued they simply assumed someone had some kind of sonic quirk.

“I suppose, but if anyone could do it it would be Relnor-san.”

The wall next to them exploded as someone crashed through it. Mirko smashed into the building across the alleyway before quickly prying herself free. She staggered somewhat as she tried to pull her senses back in order.

“Wait. Rumi!? What the hell?” Hawks called out. This wasn’t right. Rumi was the one who put people through walls, not the other way around. If she was getting tossed around-

“Gurh. Fucker’s tough. Got some sort of weakening quirk… It feels like my body is being pulled apart.” She shook her head before launching herself back inside.

Hawks watched as she bounded towards that large man with an axe. 

She was right. Her movements were a bit more sluggish to his eye… A weakening quirk? On someone who clearly also had a strengthening quirk?

“Multiple quirks?” Hawks muttered to himself.

“Hawks! Should we assist!?” 

“Yeah. Come on kid.”

They both darted inside the warehouse, Hawks pausing to assess the battle further.

Rumi was having trouble hitting this guy hard enough to knock him out of his movements.

They had to have been going at this for a while considering Rumi’s battered state, and the state of that guy’s left arm.

Nathan dropped down from the ceiling, spinning in mid air out of the way of an axe swing before letting lose a monstrous amount of electricity. That villain finally staggered allowing Nathan to weave his way under him and over to Hawks and Tokoyami.

“Need support. We can’t take a hit from this guy in this state. There anything you can do to get our speed back up to normal!?”

“That’s doable. How tough is this guy if Rumi can’t even slow him down?”

“She was doing fine before we got hit with his weakening quirk, we’ve got at least another minute or two before it will wear off.”

Nathan’s reinforcement and anti-curse mystic code was keeping him at around the same level he’d been before getting hit but he was still straining against that curse. He couldn’t imagine how bad it was for Rumi with no magical knowledge or protections.

But something he’d said set Hawks off.

How did he know how long that quirk lasted? Had they already been hit by it multiple times? But this fight couldn't have been going on that long could it?

Eric avoided another blow from Rumi before exploding towards the three idling heroes.

“Dark Shadow!” Tokoyami called out.

“YOU GOT IT!” That shadow met Eric head on, delivering a powerful gut punch to the Servant, sending him sliding backwards.

“Holy hell that worked,” Nathan muttered. He’d hung back, letting his arm build up energy for another Railgun.

Eric took a step back before swinging his axe at Tokoyami himself. Red feathers snagged the two students, swiftly pulling them out of the way of that blow.

On impact that axe pulverized the ground, launching a cloud of debris in every direction.

A powerful flap from Hawks’ wings blew it all away, revealing that Eric was still locked onto the students.

At least until Rumi delivered a knee drop powerful enough to nearly knock the man over.

Another swing of that axe followed. Rumi managed to weave under the attack but the sheer force it produced was enough to send Hawks skidding backwards.

What an insane villain. He was already strong enough to produce bursts of force like that and he had a wide ranged weakening quirk!? Was this connected to the League somehow?

Rumi pivoted and kicked Eric’s knee in an attempt to make him fall. But while under the effects of Supporting Curse she could barely make him flinch. Only her strongest attacks would be able to get over his high rank in Endurance.

A Gandr curse struck him in the back followed by two more. He whirled around, leaping towards Nathan with his axe at the ready.

He didn’t make it that far.

Dark Shadow smashed into him from below, sending him flying up into the ceiling.

“It’s over!” Nathan called out. He aimed his railgun at the Servant and pulled the trigger. He didn’t have the cleanest shot in the world but he had to pile on the damage where he could. Any Railgun he landed would bring the fight closer to its conclusion. 

The warehouse trembled as that nail was launched at three times the speed of sound straight through Eric’s midsection. 

His arm gave off a sharp cracking noise as he tried to form it back into a hand. He’d been using too much power to maneuver around Eric’s attacks. Not to mention taking out an entire drug ring before he was even summoned…

He wouldn’t be able to use his arm for a railgun again…

Eric landed with a sharp thud, kicking up a cloud of debris as he hit the ground.

Hawks watched the two students. He had no idea Tokoyami’s Dark Shadow was capable of that level of force. And was that a railgun Relnor had fired? When did they have time to coordinate this?

His hearing was still ringing from the sonic boom that last attack had produced but he absolutely heard Rumi swearing under her breath.

“Damn kid…”

“We need to get out of here while he’s down!” Nathan called out.

“Um, you shot him with a Railgun. I think he’s dead.”

“You don’t get it we need to go! Something like that won’t bring him down!”

Mirko was about to speak before an impossibly loud scream shook the building.

That axe smashed into a nearby unconscious villain, almost completely pulverizing his body. But…

“There’s no blood?” Hawks muttered absentmindedly.

All four of them watched as that small time villain was drained completely, shriveling up into a husk as that axe drank from him.

“Fuck.” Nathan muttered, shifting his attention back to Eric.

His Battle Continuation would allow him to continue fighting even if he was dealt a fatal blow.

And that axe would allow him to replenish his vitality as long as there were fresh corpses available to be drained of blood…

“Wh-” Tokoyami whimpered as he took a step back.

Oh right this was the first time he’d seen someone die right in front of him probably.

“RAAAAAAAAAAH” 

Eric planted his foot to advance only to have Mirko smash into his knee from behind.

He buckled, Hawks slashing at his undamaged shoulder with a feather blade.

Unfortunately he barely even managed to scratch him.

“What the hell are you made out of guy!?” Mirko shouted.

Eric recovered quickly swinging his axe in a wide arc to force the two pro heroes away.

Durability, enhanced strength, a quirk to weaken enemies, and a quirk that allowed him to heal himself by draining blood with his axe.

“What’s someone like this doing here?” Hawks muttered as he took point in front of the two students, “This situation has escalated, you two need to get moving.”

“I’m charging up another railgun, I just need a clear shot. If I can put him down then you can all escape!” Nathan called out.

What?

He’d again demonstrated a deep knowledge of their opponent but now he was going off about having them escape?

Hawks couldn’t let that boy’s reaction stun him when facing down an absurd opponent like this.

Why was he focused on getting everyone else out? He was the student here. Did he really think two top level pro heroes were so badly outclassed? No. If he thought that then him staying behind by himself made even less sense.

Mirko bounced off a nearby wall and smashed into Eric again, only narrowly avoiding another swing of his axe.

But she wasn’t doing any damage…

The air distorted.

“FUCK YOU I WAS JUST FEELING BETTER!” Mirko roared as she weaved her way through another attack.

This time Hawks felt it. Had they been fighting like this the whole time!? He knew Rumi was insane but this kid was just as crazy as she was.

How were either of them moving like that with such a weight holding them back!?

His feathers had barely scratched this guy without invisible hands tugging at his muscles. Now…

“I’ll provide support… Do what you can.”

They were students, but right now he needed to rely on them as if they were pros.

“Acknowledged.” Nathan said.

An unsettling crack sounded as he straightened up.

\---

The force of two servants crashing into each other shattered Todoroki’s wall of ice once again. Thankfully, Stain was just as trapped on the other side of the pair. They’d figured out that he needed to ingest blood in order to paralyze with his quirk and were keeping their distance. The only one available to him at the moment was Saint George, who was bleeding quite severely from the wound Hector had inflicted upon him.

But.

It was a fool’s errand.

After disengaging from an aerial clash Hector landed behind Stain only to have to guard immediately. Ascalon smashed into his spear knocking him off his feet and into the side of the alley. 

Even down an arm Georgios was a match for the two of them by himself.

And he was not the only one fighting.

Stain was forced to dodge a wall of fire after attempting to approach the downed heroes. Ice flowered across the ground, prompting him to immediately take to the side of the building rather than be trapped.

That secret weapon against Chaldean heroes had undoubtedly helped but Stain felt that it still wasn’t enough.

He decided to switch targets to Todoroki himself. He’d be able to maneuver properly if he could just get that kid to stop hounding him. With the flick of his wrist he sent two knives flying towards that boy. 

They didn’t make it.

They were pulverized by a single swing of that Chaldean’s blade.

Hector slammed into his unguarded side, the point of his spear denting his bronze armor from the force of impact alone. But without activating it properly it did not have enough power to punch through Georgios’ defense.

Fire washed over the trojan hero, forcing him to back off. 

“This is getting us nowhere fast boss.” Hector shouted as Stain returned to his side.

“Chaldean pro heroes… Are you all this strong?”

“More or less,” Georgios answered.

“... And yet you choose to hide in the shadows and let these fakes parade themselves in the streets?”

“This may sound harsh to you but we have no place interfering with the world of pro heroes. For all of their faults we are equally flawed in our own ways and we must not fall into the trappings of thinking that our strength allows us to make choices for the world at large,”

“Not to mention as Servants we don’t really have any place to be interfering with the-”

“Hector of Troy! You will be silent. To divulge that much would place my master in danger. Surely you have enough respect to stay your tongue?” Georgios shouted while pointing his sword at the other Servant. Even if it was a small alley with a handful of people, the existence of Servants and magic was a secret that needed to be kept. If only for the sake of keeping Nathan out of Clocktower’s crosshairs.

“... Alright, alright, I’ll play along. I don’t have a lot of time left at this rate anyway.”

“I thank you, my worthy adversary.”

Midoriya couldn’t understand it. They were still relatively friendly with each other… And yet… Georgios’ arm hung limply at his side from all the damage he’d received. Not to mention… What was Hector about to say? 

Hector was undoubtedly a Chaldean hero too! They’d met! He’d seen Voyager take him out during the nerf war! But here they were fighting to the death! Why? Why was Georgios accepting this so readily? What was going on with their organization?

Terms like Servant, Master, and mana flew between them freely, each having a meaning that only the two of them seemed to understand…

There was an out of place commonality there even if he was mistaken about Hector...

Midoriya pulled himself to his feet without even realizing what he was doing.

“Wait. You can move!?” Native called out. 

Stain clicked his tongue.

“Is there a time limit?” Todoroki asked.

“If there was, I should have gotten out first,” Native said.

They went over the possibilities as Hector and Georgios squared off, crashing against each other with a familiar level of force.

It was like watching All Might fight that Nomu.

Stain confirmed their hypothesis that it was blood type that controlled his quirk’s duration.

Right now. Midoriya and Todoroki had an opportunity. Now that there were two of them they could flee with Georgios covering them.

But.

What kind of hero left someone as badly injured as Georgios behind.

“I’ll keep Stain busy, Todoroki focus on long ranged support.”

“It’ll be rough but we don’t have another choice. Lets go. The three of us will keep those two safe.”

Georgios opened his mouth to protest but if Midoriya was anything like his master it would be useless.

You could not tell someone who cared as much as those two did not to worry.

So he accepted the help without protest.

Midoriya launched forward, landing a glancing blow on Hector and knocking him slightly off balance. It was enough for Georgios to jab him in the chest sending the trojan hero tumbling backwards.

Stain tried his best to advance but a wall of ice blocked his path. Before he could deal with it both Midoriya and Georgios were on him, Georgios already swinging his blade. His katana snapped clean in half from deflecting just that single swing which gave Midoriya a wide enough opening to punch him straight in the face.

Durindana thrust towards Midoriya only to smash into Ascalon with a loud clang. The sheer force of the blow was enough to send Midoriya tumbling away from the two. With his opponents cleared, Stain shot past Georgios, tongue grazing his left arm.

He felt his blood turn to sludge as he fell under the effects of that villain’s quirk. But he was a Saint. He was a Servant. This was nowhere near enough to bring him to a halt.

With a sharp shove he freed his blade from Hector’s spear and slashed through his armor, leaving a deep gash on the man’s shoulder.

Ice encased Hector’s legs but it was like trying to hold a truck back with tissue paper. He tore through it and thrust his spear forward, leaving a deep scratch on Georgios’ armor. 

“Che-”

The difference in defensive ability was staggering but Georgios’ speed was suffering.

He could no longer cover both Stain and Hector.

Stain weaved through hellfire and bitter frost, slashing Midoriya’s ankle with what remained of his katana and quickly catching Midoriya in his quirk again.

“Please stop… I’m already…” 

Stain was advancing on him so Todoroki couldn’t afford to look back at Iida. But… 

Words spilled freely from him.

He’d been concerned about Iida since the sports festival.

He knew the look on his face all too well after all.

“If you want us to stop then stand up! Stand up and look properly at what you want to be!”

Iida’s mind came to a complete stop.

Ingenium…

He felt his body start to move on its own.

Stain closed the distance between himself and Todoroki. Next to Georgios and Hector his speed had been unremarkable, but when turned against them the difference was clear.

He swung his broken katana in an attempt to cut Todoroki’s side open.

But.

Iida’s metal grieve smashed into his hand, pulverizing it to the point where he could no longer hold a weapon. 

Stain did not have time to counter. Iida’s quirk sent him into a spin, allowing him to deliver a second blow before he even touched the ground.

Stain slid back, having only barely managed to guard in time.

He needed to get his bearings back. He had two targets again and Iida was considerably faster than he’d expected-

A great weight slammed into him from the side sending him tumbling.

“Sorry boss,” Hector said from on top of him, “Starting to run out of gas here.” 

“Can he still-” Stain groaned out before the answer to his question stepped forward.

“Yeah whatever you tried to do slowed him down a bit but boy howdy did it not stop him.”

What a monster.

No wonder a weapon had been developed specifically to try and counter Chaldean heroes.

“For getting the three of you caught up in something that has nothing to do with you… I truly apologize,” Iida spoke, taking point in front of Todoroki.

“Iida not this agai-” Midoriya started.

“That’s why. I will not allow you to spill any more blood.”

Georgios smiled.

There it was.

The anger and vengeance had parted.

He was taking his first steps towards being a true hero.

But…

“A man’s true character doesn’t change so easily. You will never be anything more than a fake who prioritizes his own selfish desires!”

Stain’s own anger was not so easily cleared.

\---

A bolt of electricity slammed into Eric’s chest, causing him to take a step back. Nathan darted under his swing of retaliation, staying under the axe and out of Eric’s direct line of sight.

A small grouping of red feathers at his back pulled him along faster than his cursed body could move.

His arm split open and formed an arc fusion blade.

He wouldn’t be able to keep it up long but he needed to keep Eric busy while he built up power.

His leg had fewer scales than his arm did so it took longer for it to generate enough energy to fire a railgun.

“RAAAAAAAAH!” Eric brought his axe straight down. Nathan planted his foot and launched himself backwards letting Hawks pull him out of Eric’s range. Mirko landed on the axe as it hit the ground and delivered a devastating knee to Eric’s chin.

If she had been fighting absolutely anyone else that would have been enough to shatter their jaw.

But Eric’s endurance allowed him to tank the blow. He simply launched forward. He would crush them both against the truck before him.

Nathan flared his back scales, pushing up off the ground while Hawks pulled him towards Eric. Reaching out with his left hand he grabbed Mirko under her shoulder and pulled her up just enough to send them both rolling over Eric’s blisteringly fast charge.

Despite all of those forces at play they both managed to land on their feet.

Hawks regarded Nathan with fascination. He had no idea how they were coordinating so well without any real communication. He simply pulled in the direction he would want to be going if he was that close to that monster and Nathan was already moving in that direction. 

Assume the most insane answer to the problem and advance. 

A loud crash sounded as Eric slammed into the truck. With his horns embedded in the vehicle’s side he lifted it up and swung his entire body with enough force to send it hurtling towards his four opponents.

Once again it was too heavy and moving too fast. Plus Nathan only had his back scales available…

He pushed his arm to its limits, extending his arc fusion blade. With one powerful swing he cleaved the truck in half, allowing its pieces to pass safely by the heroes behind him. Immediately his blade shrunk to just under 15cm. His arm let out an odd sparking noise as more of its scales began to fail.

He and Mirko launched forward, Mirko jumping over the next axe swing and Nathan ducking under it. He slammed his arc fusion blade straight into Eric’s knee as Mirko delivered yet another crushing blow to his head.

This time the two of them managed to topple that giant of a man.

“They’re insane…” Tokoyami muttered.

“Yup. Completely out of their damn minds,” Hawks said with a smirk, “But sometimes you gotta have some of that crazy on your side.”

With Eric down Nathan jumped back and began converting his leg into the proper configuration for his railgun. All he needed was for Hawks to get him in the air.

But.

With an explosion of movement Eric launched forward, swinging his axe faster than Nathan could dodge. He only barely managed to get his right arm up in time. A devastating cracking noise sounded as it carved through his scale arm, shattering it just above the elbow. But in sacrificing his arm he was able to push the rest of his body out of that axe’s path. Nathan was flung backwards despite this, sending him crashing through a crate behind him.

He was dazed but-

Mirko tried to land another blow only to get blocked at the last moment. Before she could even try to evade, Eric pushed out and up, flinging her into the rafters. 

“Oh fuck-” Hawks got out, drawing the berserker’s attention.

He took a single step towards them before a scream reverberated through the warehouse.

An orange line tore through Eric’s torso from the side.

Despite the catastrophic damage.

Despite the force of being hit with yet another railgun.

Eric did not fall to his knees.

Instead he countered.

He flung that living axe at Nathan. Hawks’s feathers had been knocked off by the blow that had severed his arm and his leg was in no state to properly grab anything.

He was stuck.

A golden portal opened up next to him but before he could reach inside it he felt a tug on his right leg.

Dark Shadow yanked him away the moment before impact, dragging Nathan all the way to Tokoyami’s side.

“Are you ok!?” He called out.

“Dark Shadow! Listen carefully alright! Hold my torso steady, take my leg and pull it out to the side a little, then turn my foot in and pull down sharply!” Nathan screamed through the pain he was feeling.

“You got it!”

Firing a railgun with his leg was a last resort. His knee could handle the force of the shot but it usually left his hip dislocated. But this was far from the first time this had happened so Nathan knew exactly what he needed to do to be back up and moving. And so, with a sickening crunch a wave of relief washed over Nathan as his hip was pulled back into place.

It was painful to stand on but compared to the pain of his hip being out of joint it was nothing.

He was back on his feet by the time Eric went to retrieve his axe.

“How is he still moving after that!?” Tokoyami asked, completely baffled that something so devastating could be easily shrugged off.

“Sorry. I was dazed after he hit me and I didn’t want to miss so I took the shot at his center mass instead of his head.” 

“You were dazed!? Your arm is-" Hawks stopped in his tracks and registered that that right arm seemed to be made entirely of scales. Not a drop of blood had spilled from that stump. Was that how he’d managed to keep his head despite all of that?

“Kid! You ok!?” Mirko shouted as she landed near the group.

“I’m alive. Sorry I missed the headshot we needed-”

“FUCKING HELL! SHUT UP! YOU’RE ALIVE!”

“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”

Their attention was immediately drawn back to Eric. 

He held his axe over his shoulder and was about to charge forward and carve them to shreds.

He never got the chance.

What was left of the ceiling came down on top of him as a mass of white crashed through it. 

The man had an even more imposing figure than Eric’s and wielded two gigantic axes.

Nathan pushed off of the wall with his back scales as everyone tried to process what was happening.

“Asterios! Deploy your Noble Phantasm!” He shouted as he latched onto the man’s long white hair.

“Lets go! Wander… Lost... DIE!” 

That warehouse was wiped away by a massive explosion of light. Everything around them warped and distorted. Walls sprang up between Nathan and the other heroes, separating them from the fight as the Chaos Labyrinth took shape.

“Now then Eric Bloodaxe! Let’s end this!” Nathan Relnor, Master of Chaldea, roared from his place atop Asterios’ shoulder.

\---

“You embody the cancer that plagues society! Someone must cleanse you!” Stain shouted.

“You’re really set on this whole murdering kids before they even get the chance to grow thing aren’t you boss?” Hector muttered as he locked weapons with Georgios, “Hey… I’m just about out of time. If you’re gonna keep this whole thing under wraps just put me through a wall and I’ll give out…” He said in a hushed tone.

“Understood. I thank you for the courtesy,” Georgios nodded. He could hear Iida assert himself as Todoroki tried to keep Stain away with a constant stream of fire.

“You’re not someone I know, but you know me. That’s the only thing I wanna know before I go.”

“My true name is Georgios. I know of you because I have fought alongside you before in the halls of Chaldea.”

“Ah. Previous war?”

“Of sorts.”

“That makes sense. Alright Georgios. It’s been an honor.”

“Likewise Hector of Troy.”

With one final burst of strength he broke their stalemate and swung his blade with enough force to push Hector through the wall behind him.

He returned his attention to Stain just as he flung a knife at Iida. Georgios smashed the blade apart with another swing of Ascalon, darting under Todoroki’s flames as he did so.

“Child are you alright?”

He had been too late. Iida already had a knife sticking out of his arm. 

But.

“Todoroki! Freeze my legs without plugging my exhausts!”

Ah.

He was going to get up and fight. There was no more anger, only determined purpose.

“I will cover you. Proceed with caution, it would seem our opponent has become quite frenzied.” Georgios trained his blade on the man.

“Hector!”

“He will not come to your aid anymore I am afraid. He has been dealt the losing hand in our duel.”

Stain flung another knife at the Saint but it simply bounced off of his armor. There was nothing that madman could do to harm him anymore.

Iida and Midoriya launched past him, both landing crushing blows on the Hero killer. Todoroki followed up by finally catching him in a pillar of fire.

It was over.

The two slid back and prepared to jump right back into the fray but…

Stain hit the ground unconscious.

Georgios sheathed his sword.

“Excellent work you three. I thank you for your assistance in this matter,” He said with a shining smile.

“W-We should restrain him and take his weapons away. Just in case.”

“An excellent idea young man. But first. Assess yourselves. How badly injured are you all?”

Todoroki looked at himself, “I’m fine. Tired.”

“My ankle’s been slashed… Other than that I’m ok,” Midoriya said, demonstrating the same alarming definition of ok that Nathan usually did. 

Iida was quiet. He was clearly the most severely injured but the fact that his friend had been hurt...

“Ingenium should rest. Tend to Midoriya Izuku and that pro hero over there first and then fetch me a rope when you’re sure they’re in no further danger. I will set about disarming him.”

“But! Your shoulder!” Midoriya called out.

“Rest assured young Midoriya Izuku, my injuries are nothing to fret over. Now, sit, I will take care of the rest.”

If Stain was faking it Georgios wanted to be the one in arms reach. And of course there was his secondary concern.

The strange silver device that hung on his waist… The glass tube extending from the bottom did not have a drop of that red liquid in it anymore but it was still imperative that he get it back to Chaldea.

He covertly removed the device and stored it under his armor.

With that he began tossing knives away. Todoroki came along his side with a bundle of rope he’d found.

“What about that other guy?”

“It is unfortunate but in the heat of battle sometimes the choice must be made between your opponent’s life and the lives of those you are trying to protect. It is a gruesome sight so please do not venture over. I will notify the pros and have someone come along for his body in short order.” Georgios said solemnly. It went a bit against his words earlier that nobody was beyond salvation but only Iida and Native actually heard him say that. As it stood now he needed to keep the kids away from the hole he’d put Hector through so they wouldn’t see that he just wasn’t there anymore.

It would only bring them needless hardship.

“I see… Thank you… You’re a Chaldean pro hero right?”

“Yes. My true name is Georgios, You can call me George if you wish.” He said as he finished tying Stain up, “His ribs are broken so we’ll need to be careful.”

Todoroki nodded as they dragged him towards the others.

“Iida Tenya, I trust you’re well despite your arm,” Georgios said.

“Y-Yes sir. I-”

“Then I am well. Come, let us get you medical attention.”

Native was up and carrying Midoriya to help keep him off his injured ankle. He moped briefly about being a pro hero yet still being being unable to do anything but Midoriya was quick to point out how unfair fighting someone like Stain was one on one.

“Georgios, Todoroki, please let me help drag him. I-”

“Your arm is too messed up,” Todoroki shut him down quickly.

“Yes. There’s no need to burden you further. Besides it doesn’t really matter too much anymore.”

“Wh- What the hell are you doing here boy!?” A small old man shouted before rocketing forward and planting his foot square in Midoriya’s face. A gaggle of pro heroes followed him towards the group.

Their harrowing fight against the hero killer and a Servant was well and truly over.

\---

A dozen golden portals opened up behind Asterios. But that golden king was nowhere to be found. Indeed Asterios’ Chaos Labyrinth had sealed everyone but himself and his Master away from the fight.

“I’m giving you my full support Asterios! Let’s put him out of his misery! Sherlock what are his readings?”

“Honestly he’s already at the end of his rope. I believe he has not been receiving any mana from whoever summoned him.”

“Understood! Gate of Babylon!” Nathan called out. Those portals produced a number of thin blades, all of which were fired at Eric before he could even think to charge them. 

Asterios launched forward, smashing his dual axes against Eric’s living one.

“I am sorry Eric Bloodaxe. We’ll make this quick so you can go back to your peaceful slumber…”

Eric let out a terrifying scream as he attempted to push Asterios away.

But the difference in power was staggering.

Even if Eric was operating at full strength.

Even if he hadn’t just come out of an extended fight that had been draining his reserves.

Asterios was simply that much stronger.

Asterios kicked him hard in the sternum, sending him tumbling back into the nearby wall.

“Deploying Black Keys!” Nathan shouted. More golden portals supplied more thin blades, each striking Eric with the force of a bullet.

Asterios let out a terrible roar as he swung both axes.

A tremendous amount of blood spilled out.

“Ah… I see… What a shame… To have been summoned for something so megar…” Eric muttered.

“I’m sorry. I can only wish you well on your return to the throne, my king.” Nathan said, bowing his head respectfully.

“Thank you weary traveler. To think I would meet such a fierce opponent outside of a Grail war…”

With his last words Eric’s body broke apart fading away into a golden dust.

“Spirit Origin confirmed terminated. Excellent work Master.”

“Right… Asterios you mind bringing down your Noble Phantasm?”

“Sure...” 

The Chaos Labyrinth came apart at the seams, the destroyed warehouse taking form all around them.

“What the fuck! There you are, you idiot!” Mirko shouted as she came back into view, bounding over to Nathan and Asterios, “Who’s this guy? What the hell just happened? Are you ok?”

“This is Asterios. He’s a Chaldean hero. I called for backup when that other villain appeared.”

“Yeah where is that guy!?”

“He’s gone. Still trapped in that Labyrinth.”

“Aaaaah,” Asterios nodded.

“Not a man of many words huh?” Hawks said as he approached them, caution written all over his body language.

“No. He has some trouble speaking but he’s a good man!” Nathan said cheerfully, “Do you mind letting me down?”

“Alright..”

Nathan touched down as Tokoyami walked up, clearly stunned from the latest turn of events.

“Well. This is gonna be a report and a half to write. Rumi, you stick with the kids. Asterios was it? You and I can scout the area and see if there are any survivors.” Hawks said simply.

“I’m fine, there’s no need to watch over me. You ok Tokoyami?”

“Er… yeah… I… My body was… But it’s gone now, right?”

“Yeah. I’m not feeling the effect of that guy’s quirk either.”

“You’re gonna be feeling the effect of mine though!” Rumi shouted as she grabbed Nathan into a headlock. “What the hell was that last act eh!? Jumping off without the rest of us!?”

“Rumi I can’t breath.”

As she dragged the two UA students away from the remains of the warehouse Hawks turned his attention to Asterios.

“You make house calls for that kid?”

“Uuuuhhhh. Our responsibility… to Master…”

“Mh…” Hawks spread his feathers across the area, plucking the still living from the wreckage, “You mind carrying these guys over once we round them all up?”

“Aaaah.”

“But uh. Tell me something. That guy. That wasn’t a normal villain. You Chaldeans deal with stuff like him a lot?”

Asterios nodded in confirmation.

Hawks remained silent. It was abundantly clear that something was hiding under the surface of that organization. He was in the middle of investigating the league of villains, but maybe he had time to throw a few feelers out at Chaldea.

He decided not to bother with Asterios. If it was difficult for him to talk then trying to force answers was both cruel and likely not to be fruitful. 

They approached Mirko and the two kids, Asterios depositing two armfuls of villains next to the pile of attempted escapees.

Mirko was engaged in giving Nathan a fierce noogie for leaving her behind at the last second and causing her to miss the end of the fight.

Tokoyami merely watched the two of them, clearly shell shocked from everything he’d witnessed.

“Hey kid. I’ll get you in touch with a shrink so you have someone to talk this over with, alright?” Hawks said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Ah… Thank you sir. Sorry I- He killed a man didn’t he?”

“Yup. Happens from time to time. You get used to it.”

Both of their eyes locked onto Nathan, who now had Asterios fretting over him as he attempted to escape Mirko’s grasp.

“Apparently…” Tokoyami muttered.

\---

The fight had not lasted very long. At most it had been ten minutes since they entered the alley. Despite everything they had managed to bring down the Hero killer and were currently being escorted back to safety.

For a moment they were allowed to relax.

But only for a moment.

“Get down!” Grand Torino shouted.

Georgios was too slow. A winged Nomu plucked Midoriya straight off of Native’s back.

With a burst of motion he launched himself into the air. He grabbed Midoriya, adding to the weight that the struggling creature was trying to carry. With one arm unresponsive and humans watching him from below that was the limits of his capabilities.

He felt them start to descend as the creature’s entire body locked up.

Stain vaulted up and stabbed it in the head with a knife George had clearly missed.

“The fakes that have overrun society… And the Criminals who aimlessly use their power idly… Shall all be purged!”

They landed with a crash.

Despite this Georgios kept his footing, yanking Midoriya out of Stain’s reach and sending him rolling backwards. Stain wheezed deeply as Georgios drew his blade in preparation for further violence.

“All of this… For a just world.”

“Is that where your pile of bodies will bring you? Justice?” Georgios shouted. He heard a commotion behind him as another pro hero arrived. He recognized the man vaguely as Endeavor, but he couldn’t afford to take his eyes off of Stain.

“Aaaaah! Another fake! I must make things right…”

Stain’s presence spilled out like a flood. Murderous intent, righteous anger, pure purpose. It was a torrent that swept the pro heroes up, leaving them paralyzed in its wake.

“Someone must be dyed with blood…”

He took a step forward, towards that unyielding holy blade Ascalon.

“I must take back what it means to be a hero…”

One by one, everyone behind the saint was taken in by their fear.

“Come and try to stop me you fakes! The only one I’ll let kill me is the true hero… All Might!”

But.

“You who would point your blade at a child? A child that your methods drove to desperate anger? You who inspire only fear and hatred? You who think people are beyond salvation and so choose to purge them? You are the one who will bring meaning to the word hero?” 

He cut through Stain’s overwhelming presence with his words instead of his blade.

“Everyone behind me that you have branded as a fake came out here today to save lives. You stand alone in your quest to end them.”

Georgios sheathed his sword.

“And… Do you really think a true hero like All Might would choose to kill you when he could just as easily extend his hand to save you?”

A blinding light blew away Stain’s ill will with a single stroke. Georgios stood with his arm out as Stain fell forward, his body finally collapsing under the weight of his injuries. 

\---

The area was swarming with police, taking in the remaining criminals and beginning the process of cataloging the dead ones.

Mirko for her part was reluctant to stand around but Hawks had forced her to at least give a report to the first responders. 

Tokoyami looked at Nathan’s destroyed right arm.

“Are you sure you’re ok?” He asked.

“Yeah! I’m fine. This happens every now and then honestly.” He replied with a smile.

The two of them were sitting on Asterios’s shoulders. Being about two and a half meters off the ground after an encounter like that gave Tokoyami some sense of safety, even if he was concerned about burdening Asterios with such nonsense.

“Ah. I’m glad… I was… I was scared when I saw him go for you. I sent Dark Shadow out but he only got to you after…”

“You saved my life Tokoyami,” Nathan said with a smile that pierced through Tokoyami’s heart, “If Dark Shadow hadn’t dragged me away after I fired my railgun I don’t know what would have happened. I think you did amazing out there… And I bet I’m not the only one.”

They both looked to Hawks as he spoke to the various officers buzzing around the scene.

He noticed their combined attention and gave them a wave before returning to the work at hand.

“How do you do it Relnor-san?”

“Hm?”

“You almost died back there, by your own admission even, but you’re…”

Nathan had to suppress his first answer. He was used to that kind of danger. In fact this wasn’t even the first time he’d fought Eric Bloodaxe.

“Oh. I’m sure I’ll be having some fun dreams later, but… I survived. You survived. We all survived. That’s the important part. Come whatever may, we can take our time and deal with it because we’re still alive.”

“Ah here we are. Once again, you’ve gotten yourself involved in something terrifying.” Sherlock said as he arrived on the back of Achilles’ Chariot.

“Yo Nate! Heard you had quite the exciting evening!” Achilles called out with a great big smile on his face.

“It’s been a time.” Nathan responded with one of his own.

“Eh? These two friends of yours?” Mirko asked. As she, Hawks, and a gaggle of investigators approached the two.

“I am from Chaldea so it’s only natural that most of them would know me,” Nathan said dryly.

“Yes. I’m here to take over the investigation as one of our heroes was called, please take me through the events of today.”

With that the police led Sherlock off.

“Well. We should probably get you three checked out. Ambulances are over there,” Hawks said dismissively.

“Ugh. Doctors are such a giant pain in the ass though!”

“Rumi.” Both Hawks and Nathan said at the same time with the exact same tone.

“GOD WHY ARE THERE TWO OF YOU!”

“I am concerned about your safety as your first intern. I think it would reflect badly on me if you got beaten up keeping my ass in line.”

“I’m just trying to keep my coworkers alive Rumi. I know it’s your solemn goal in life to make that as difficult as possible but come on.”

“UUUUUGH! YOU TWO ARE IMPOSSIBLE! FINE LETS GO BIG GUY!” She motioned to Asterios as she began the trek over to the medics.

With the kids and also Rumi, who qualified for that group some days, gone to get patched up Hawks made his way over to Sherlock and Achilles.

“So, you’re Sherlock right? Chaldea’s ambassador of sorts?” He asked.

“That’s correct pro hero Hawks. How may I help you today? I’ve already collected your statement from the investigator so if you have anything you’d like to add feel free.”

“Yeah, what the fuck is up with your kid?” He gestured back over to Asterios and crew. It was the broadest way to ask the question he really wanted answered but he figured he had to be a little careful when dealing with Chaldea.

Achilles immediately tensed up, for the briefest of moments Hawks thought he was going to attack, but a raised hand from Sherlock caused him to relax.

“He has not had the easiest time. Chaldea was not always this way. Its management changed hands several times over Nathan Relnor’s stay with us. His safety was not always a primary concern of the administration.”

“And how long have you been there?”

“Oh only a few years myself. I have only been acting in the role I’m in now for a year or so.”

“Yeah alright so let’s get to my main question. Who was that guy at the end? He had at least four different quirks and wasn’t like any of the other criminals here. Nobody had any reports of anyone near that strong. So how did he get here and how did your kid know exactly what he was capable of?”

“I would give you an answer if I had one!” Sherlock said with a smile, “Unfortunately we have no idea where he came from either! That’s why I personally came out to investigate. Tell me, you’ve been in two incidents which required Chaldean intervention no? And yet we’ve never met. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions as to why this situation is different.”

Sherlock had only answered one part of his question. And even then he hadn’t actually answered it.

“I see…”

Hawks looked to the green haired man who’s name he didn’t know.

Achilles wasn’t even really paying attention to him.

Perhaps going directly to the source wasn’t his best idea…

“Did you notice anything else strange when this man arrived?” Sherlock asked.

“No. He was already here by the time I got involved. You’re gonna have to go to Rumi or your kid for that one.”

“He has a name,” Achilles said sharply, “Nathan Relnor.”

“Ah. My bad,” Hawks said holding his hands up in a sign of surrender, “I didn’t mean anything by what I said earlier. He’s gonna be wild once he hits the scene. Never seen anyone able to synch up with Rumi before. I’d love to work with him myself someday.”

“Oh. Lovely. I’ll be sure to let him know. Now then. Would you like to help us canvas the area or are you needed elsewhere?”

“Yeah sure lemme get a good look from above.”

\---

“And that’s when the other pro heroes arrived,” Georgios said, finishing his retelling of events.

“Hm. I see. We might have to doctor the reports somewhat for those kids… Would you be able to do that internally with Chaldea? The public would surely praise those boys for their actions but we would have to punish them for acting…”

“Of course. If it is to protect the future of those children I will do whatever it takes.”

“Now. Are you sure you don’t want to have that injury looked at?”

“It’s quite alright. It’s not as bad as it appears. I will simply get it treated when I return to Chaldea.”

“And you’re absolutely sure you want to give credit to Endeavor?”

“Yes. This was a hard fought win by those boys. If you had to give credit I would rather it go to someone more closely connected to them than Chaldea.”

“... I can’t say I’ll ever get used to working with you lot, woof.” Police Chief Tsugaramae Kenji said with the shake of his dog head.

“Pardon?”

“You Chaldean heroes stick to the underground so fervently. It’s almost like you don’t want any public attention at all.”

“Well that’s part of it. We would rather our operation stay out of the public’s eye. Let’s just say that a few of our heroes are more comfortable with as little attention as possible so the rest of us follow suit to protect them.”

“It truly is outstanding. That your entire operation sacrifices so much for so few.”

“It is a small price to pay for their comfort,” Georgios said with a smile.

“Alright the boys are getting treated… Oh! You’re still injured! Hold on I’ll-” Pro hero Manuel said as he walked up to the two.

“Georgios has refused treatment for the time being. He is about to return to Chaldea.”

“Ah. Well. Let me be the first to thank you. Truly. I am sorry I was not able to protect Iida from himself and I thank you for being there when I could not be…”

“Think nothing of it my friend. The actions you took in subduing those monsters are just as worthy of praise. I merely tended to a few children, rather poorly I might add considering young Iida was still injured even after I swore he would suffer no further harm.”

“It could have gone much worse if not for your intervention,” Grand Torino said as he approached the group.

“There’s no sense in exploring such hypotheticals,” Georgios said with the shake of his head, “They have survived. They will move forward. I believe the three of them will turn into truly splendid heroes. Now. I will take my leave. May the evening see you well gentlemen.”

“To you as well Georgios.”

They exchanged farewells before Georgios was finally allowed to leave. He darted into a nearby alley and shifted into spirit form before finally being able to return to Chaldea.

\---

“So… You stickin with me for the rest of the week or what?” Rumi asked. Her head was lightly bandaged and she was going to be sore as hell tomorrow but otherwise she’d come out of the fight with a clean bill of health.

“I might go home for a little bit to get this sorted out but I’m down if you’re ok with it.” Nathan said with a gesture to the remains of his right arm.

Tokoyami had barely been involved in the fight so he’d been allowed to leave the scene once Hawks wrapped up his own investigation.

“If I’m ok with it? You can’t get rid of me that easy kid! I’ll come all the way to Chaldea just so I can be on hand to get you back to the hotel!”

Nathan’s smile froze in place. Rumi in Chaldea? If she met the celts she might not ever leave.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea! We can all take the chariot back!” Sherlock said as he and Achilles approached them.

If looks could kill Sherlock would have dropped dead on the spot.

“Yooo. So this is the hero that’s been keeping Nate busy this week!” Achilles looked Rumi up and down before nodding approvingly, “If she’s coming back with us she’ll have to pay a price.”

“Eh? Eh? Are there like Chaldea Tickets I have to pay for? What’s this horse shit?”

“No no nothing like that! If you’re gonna be there we might as well spar! You look tough as hell! It’ll be fun!”

“Oh. OH! OH I LIKE THIS ONE!” Rumi shouted excitedly.

“Oh god she’s never going to leave Sherlock you’ve done this to me.”

“You’re the one that agreed to intern under her. This was inevitable.” Sherlock wasn’t even bothering to hide his shit eating grin. Come to think of it, why had he decided to ride with Achilles?

“YOU DID THIS ON PURPOSE!” Nathan screamed as he launched himself at Sherlock.

“Hahahaha I would never!” He said as he dodged out of the way.

Asterios simply reached over and picked the thrashing boy up by the collar as the group laughed heartily at his expense.

At times Nathan felt that Sherlock was utterly impossible. But he’d saved his life so many times he could never stay mad at him for long.

And so the five of them returned to Chaldea. Nathan and Sherlock splitting off as Achilles and Asterios quickly herded Rumi to the simulation room.

“So,” Nathan spoke as Asclepius began the process of removing what remained of Nathan’s scale arm, “What were you able to figure out?”

“Unfortunately from your encounter very little. Whatever process managed to summon Eric was likely destroyed when Asterios arrived. But. You were not the only one to fight a rogue Servant tonight.”

“Huh?”

“You deployed Saint George to watch over Iida Tenya did you not? He’s on his way back now. It seems the Hero Killer was able to summon his own Servant.”

Nathan let out a hiss as Asclepius got to the bottom most layer of scales. The scales directly attached to his arm were painful to remove, but thankfully Sherlock had given him something else to think about.

“Oh that’s not good. Two in one night?”

“Yes well. Georgios managed to recover the device so we’ll be able to pour over it when he gets back.”

“At least one of us managed to get a lead. How’s Iida?”

“It seems everything is well. He sustained minor injuries before Georgios, Midoriya, and Todoroki arrived on the scene to help.”

“Midoriya!? Who did Stain summon!?”

“Hector of Troy.”

“Fuck did they meet? When Midoriya was here?”

“Unfortunately I believe so. I advise you to start thinking of a way to explain it away now so Midoriya does not surprise you.”

“Yeah. Thanks for the warning. I’ll think of something.”

“There. Your arm is ready Master,” Asclepius said, stepping back from him.

“Alright. Ugh. Let’s get this over with. Rumi meeting Achilles is bad enough, I don’t want her to meet anyone else that might keep her here.”

“Naturally. But passing her off to him was a surefire way to be able to have this conversation in private.”

“I mean I guess…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it. Something is seeping in from below. Guess we'll have to see how much worse that uncertain element will make things in the future. For now everyone has managed to walk away from their first real encounter with Servants relatively unscathed. Let me know what you guys thought!


End file.
